Systems for enhancing funding of gaming
View Patent ↗Apparatus and methods are provided for facilitating the funding of gaming and preferably the purchase of gaming vouchers with commercial bank cards and/or with casino and/or new credit accounts and/or the prompting of opening of a new credit account, including an automated kiosk located on a gaming floor proximate to gaming machines but separate from particular gaming machines, including reading and printing equipment in communication with a voucher host; also including a prompt to open new a gaming oriented line of credit in response to a refusal of an EFT transaction, including a preferred gaming oriented credit card account and card having cash advance limits commensurate with credit limits for gaming oriented transaction, the approval of the account preferably based on EFT gaming transaction history.
1. An automated kiosk located on a gaming floor proximate to but separate from gaming machines, comprising:
a housing;
at least one video display;
at least one user input device configured to accept input from a user;
a media reader;
a voucher printer;
a processor;
a communication interface via which said kiosk is in communication with a casino voucher accounting system and a financial transaction merchant which is in communication with an external commercial EFT network; and
machine readable code fixed in a tangible medium and executable by said processor to cause said automated kiosk to, in response to reading a financial card presented to said media reader by a user and in response to input from said user of a desired financial transaction having a value, generate and transmit a financial transaction request to said financial transaction merchant for processing by said commercial EFT network, and to, in response to receiving a denial of said financial transaction from said financial transaction merchant, cause said at least one video display to display an offer to said user to open a new gaming oriented credit account.
2. The automated kiosk in accordance with claim 1 wherein the kiosk and financial transaction merchant are structured in combination to receive information regarding a new card account and to formulate a request for funds through a new card account system based on the information.
3. The automated kiosk in accordance with claim 1 further comprising machine readable code fixed in a tangible medium and executable by said processor to cause said automated kiosk to, in response to reading a financial card presented to said media reader by a user and in response to input from said user of a desired financial transaction having a value, generate and transmit a financial transaction request to said financial transaction merchant for processing by said commercial EFT network, to receive from said financial transaction merchant a command to print a voucher having said value, to cause said voucher printer to print said voucher in response to said command, and to generate and transmit a confirmation to said financial transaction merchant that said voucher was issued.
4. The automated kiosk in accordance with claim 1 wherein said communication interface comprises a wireless communication interface.
5. The automated kiosk in accordance with claim 1 wherein said automated kiosk is placed proximate to a bank of gaming machines.
6. The automated kiosk in accordance with claim 1 wherein said gaming oriented credit account is associated with a credit card.
7. The automated kiosk in accordance with claim 1 wherein said gaming oriented credit account comprises a gaming oriented line of credit.
8. A player funding system for a casino having a plurality of gaming machines, comprising:
an automated kiosk located proximate to but separate from said plurality of gaming machines, said automated kiosk comprising:
a housing;
at least one video display;
at least one user input device configured to accept input from a user;
a media reader;
a voucher printer;
a processor; and
a communication interface;
and
a financial transaction merchant server which is in communication with said automated kiosk, a commercial EFT network, and a casino voucher accounting system,
wherein said financial transaction merchant server is configured to receive a request for a financial transaction from said automated kiosk and route said request to said EFT network for approval, and
wherein in response to a denial of said request from said EFT network, said financial transaction merchant server is configured to transmit a signal to said automated kiosk to cause said automated kiosk to display, via said at least one video display, an option for said player to open a new gaming oriented credit account.
9. The player funding system in accordance with claim 8 wherein said financial transaction merchant server is further in communication with a new gaming oriented card account system.
10. The player funding system in accordance with claim 8 wherein said financial transaction merchant is further in communication with a casino account accounting system.
11. The player funding system in accordance with claim 8 wherein in response to an approval of said request from said EFT network, said financial transaction merchant server is configured to send a request to said casino voucher accounting system for a voucher authorization and, in response to receiving said authorization, send a message to said automated kiosk to issue a voucher representing an amount of funds by said voucher printer.
12. The player funding system in accordance with claim 8 further comprising a cashless gateway communicatively positioned between said financial transaction merchant server and said EFT network.
13. The player funding system in accordance with claim 8 further comprising a gaming environment server communicatively positioned between said automated kiosk and said financial transaction merchant server.
14. The player funding system in accordance with claim 13 wherein said financial transaction merchant server is communicatively linked to said casino voucher system through said gaming environment server.
15. The player funding system in accordance with claim 8 wherein said communication interface of said automated kiosk comprises a wireless communication interface.
16. The player funding system in accordance with claim 8 comprising at least one communication link between said automated kiosk and said casino voucher accounting system.
17. The player funding system in accordance with claim 8 wherein said gaming oriented credit account is associated with a credit card.
18. The player funding system in accordance with claim 8 wherein said gaming oriented credit account comprises a gaming oriented line of credit.