Method for cashless gaming

Abstract

Methods for avoiding or reducing reliance on the need to use a physical payment instrument in substitution for cash for wagering on gaming terminals. With the method, the player uses a secure cashless payment instrument that does not require presentation of the payment instrument through an automatic reader fitted to a gaming terminal. The cashless payment instrument features a third-party security code and a two-level limited lifetime in which one level may be reset. The method may advantageously be used in small remote gaming facilities such as in island holiday resorts, in cruise ships and on-board international flights, for example.

1 . A cashless payment method for a network connected gaming system comprising the steps of: 
 issuing a ticket in exchange for money remitted by a player, the ticket including a preprinted security code and a printed identification code indexed in a central database in which data associated with the identification code is stored, the data comprising at least the timestamp of the time when the ticket is issued and a balance of credit being set to the money remitted;    accepting the ticket by a gaming terminal of the gaming system selected by the player and crediting the gaming terminal with a credit amount corresponding to the balance of credit;    enabling wagering on the gaming terminal and updating the credit amount while a balance of the credit amount is greater than zero, and whenever the balance of the credit amount is zero, disallowing further wagering and redeeming;    enabling redemption of the balance of the credit amount when the player has won a jackpot or has pressed a cash-out button on the selected gaming terminal upon presentation by the player of the ticket, the redemption enabling step being rejected if the presented ticket does not have a security code preprinted thereon that falls within a predetermined series of codes determined from the timestamps and the security codes preprinted on previously redeemed tickets.    
   
   
       2 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the gaming terminal is equipped with at least one of a keyboard/keypad and a pointing device.  
   
   
       3 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the accepting step includes a step of accepting manual entry of the identification code.  
   
   
       4 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the identification code includes at least one of an alphanumeric code, a password and a pass-phrase.  
   
   
       5 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the player winning the jackpot or pressing the cash out button step results in having a cash-out ticket printed, and the ticket of the redemption enabling step is the cash-out ticket.  
   
   
       6 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the issuing step further comprises a step of the player providing a first PIN, the first PIN being recorded in the central database and wherein the redemption enabling step further comprises a step of the player providing a second PIN, and denying the redemption enabling step if second PIN does not match the first PIN recorded in the central database.  
   
   
       7 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the pre-printed security code is from one of a series of sequential numbers and from a series of pseudo-random numbers.