Gaming system and method for utilizing a mobile device to fund a gaming session

Abstract

The present disclosure relates generally to gaming systems and methods for facilitating funds to and from an electronic gaming machine via a mobile device.

The invention is claimed as follows: 
     
         1 . A gaming system comprising:
 at least one display device;   at least one input device;   at least one processor; and   at least one memory device which stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device, and the at least one input device to:
 (a) wirelessly receive, from a mobile device, data associated with a cashless wagering account accessed via a mobile device application of the mobile device, 
 (b) wirelessly receive, from the mobile device, data associated with an amount of funds determined in association with the mobile device application of the mobile device, 
 (c) request, from a cashless wagering server, the amount of funds from the cashless wagering account, and 
 (d) if the requested amount of funds is approved from the cashless wagering server:
 (i) modify a credit balance based on the requested amount of funds, 
 (ii) cause a wireless transmission of data to the mobile device, said data associated with a fund transfer confirmation to be displayed by the mobile device, 
 (iii) thereafter, if a wager is placed in association with a play of a game:
 (A) deduct the placed wager from the credit balance, 
 (B) determine a game outcome, 
 (C) display the determined game outcome, 
 (D) determine any award associated with the determined game outcome, and 
 (E) display any determined award associated with the determined game outcome. 
 
 
   
     
     
         2 . The gaming system of  claim 1 , wherein the wirelessly received data is associated with a player tracking account accessed via the mobile device application of the mobile device. 
     
     
         3 . The gaming system of  claim 1 , wherein a balance of the cashless wagering account is viewable via the mobile device application. 
     
     
         4 . The gaming system of  claim 1 , wherein when executed by the at least one processor if the credit balance is reduced to less than a designated amount, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to, independent of any player input, cause a wireless transmission of a request for an additional amount of funds to be transferred from the cashless wagering account. 
     
     
         5 . The gaming system of  claim 1 , wherein the requested amount of funds is selected from the group consisting of: an amount of funds selected from a listing of different amounts of funds, a gaming system default amount of funds, and a player configured default amount of funds. 
     
     
         6 . The gaming system of  claim 1 , wherein when executed by the at least one processor if a request to cashout the credit balance to the cashless wagering account is received, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to: cause a wireless transmission to the cashless wagering server of an amount of the credit balance, and cause a wireless transmission of data to the mobile device, said data associated with a cashout confirmation to be displayed by the mobile device. 
     
     
         7 . The gaming system of  claim 6 , wherein the request to cashout the credit balance to the cashless wagering account is associated with data wirelessly received from the mobile device. 
     
     
         8 . The gaming system of  claim 1 , wherein when executed by the at least one processor prior to wirelessly receiving said data associated with the cashless wagering account, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to receive an authorization token from the mobile device. 
     
     
         9 . The gaming system of  claim 8 , wherein the received authorization token expires after a designated amount of time. 
     
     
         10 . The gaming system of  claim 1 , wherein the data is wirelessly communicated via a wireless protocol selected from the group consisting of: a near field communication protocol, a WiFi protocol, a Bluetooth protocol, a Bluetooth Low Energy protocol, and a mobile device network protocol. 
     
     
         11 . The gaming system of  claim 10 , wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to temporarily display a QR code, said wireless protocol being associated with the mobile device application of the mobile device scanning the displayed QR code. 
     
     
         12 . The gaming system of  claim 1 , which includes a housing, and a plurality of input devices supported by the housing, said plurality of input devices including (i) an acceptor, and (ii) a cashout device, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the plurality of input devices to: if a physical item is received via the acceptor, modify the credit balance based, at least in part, on a monetary value associated with the received physical item, and if a cashout input is received via the cashout device, cause an initiation of any payout associated with the credit balance to the cashless wagering account accessed via the mobile device application of the mobile device. 
     
     
         13 . The gaming system of  claim 1 , which includes a housing, and a plurality of input devices supported by the housing, said plurality of input devices including (i) an acceptor, and (ii) a cashout device, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to operate with the plurality of input devices to: if a first physical item is received via the acceptor, modify the credit balance based, at least in part, on a monetary value associated with the received first physical item, and if a cashout input is received via the cashout device, cause an initiation of any payout of a second physical device having a monetary value associated with the credit balance. 
     
     
         14 . The gaming system of  claim 1 , wherein any determined game award is at least one selected from the group of: a quantity of monetary credits, a quantity of non-monetary credits, a quantity of promotional credits, and a quantity of player tracking points. 
     
     
         15 . The gaming system of  claim 1 , wherein the amount of funds from the cashless wagering account are at least partially associated with a deposit of at least one unit of currency at a kiosk. 
     
     
         16 . An electronic gaming machine component comprising:
 a first interface configured to communicate with a cashless wagering server;   a second interface configured to communicate with an electronic gaming machine;   a wireless interface configured to communicate with a mobile device;   at least one processor; and   at least one memory device which stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the first interface, the second interface and the wireless interface to:
 (a) wirelessly receive, via the wireless interface, data from the mobile device, said data associated with a cashless wagering account accessed via a mobile device application of the mobile device, 
 (b) wirelessly receive, via the wireless interface, data from the mobile device, said data associated with an amount of funds determined in association with the mobile device application of the mobile device, 
 (c) communicate, via the first interface, a request to the cashless wagering server of the amount of funds from the cashless wagering account, and 
 (d) if an approval of the amount of funds from the cashless wagering account is received, via the first interface, from the cashless wagering server:
 (i) communicate, via the second interface, data to the electronic gaming machine, said communicated data being associated with a modification of a credit balance of the electronic gaming machine, said modification being based on the approved amount of funds, and 
 (ii) wirelessly transmit, via the wireless interface, data to the mobile device, said data associated with a fund transfer confirmation to be displayed by the mobile device. 
 
   
     
     
         17 . The electronic gaming machine component of  claim 16 , wherein the wirelessly received data associated with the cashless wagering account includes data associated with a player tracking account accessed via the mobile device application of the mobile device. 
     
     
         18 . The electronic gaming machine component of  claim 16 , wherein when executed by the at least one processor if data is received, via the second interface, from the electronic gaming machine that the credit balance of the electronic gaming machine is reduced to less than a designated amount, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to, independent of any player input, cause a wireless transmission of a request for an additional amount of funds to be transferred from the cashless wagering account. 
     
     
         19 . The electronic gaming machine component of  claim 16 , wherein the amount of funds is selected from the group consisting of: an amount of funds selected from a listing of different amounts of funds, a gaming system default amount of funds, and a player configured default amount of funds. 
     
     
         20 . The electronic gaming machine component of  claim 16 , wherein when executed by the at least one processor prior to wirelessly receiving, via the wireless interface, said data associated with the cashless wagering account, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to wirelessly receive, via the wireless interface, an authorization token from the mobile device. 
     
     
         21 . The electronic gaming machine component of  claim 20 , wherein the received authorization token expires after a designated amount of time. 
     
     
         22 . The electronic gaming machine component of  claim 16 , wherein the wireless interface utilizes a wireless protocol selected from the group consisting of: a near field communication protocol, a WiFi protocol, a Bluetooth protocol, a Bluetooth Low Energy protocol, and a mobile device network protocol. 
     
     
         23 . The electronic gaming machine component of  claim 22 , wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to cause a temporary display of a QR code, said wireless protocol being associated with the mobile device application of the mobile device scanning the displayed QR code. 
     
     
         24 . The electronic gaming machine component of  claim 16 , wherein the amount of funds from the cashless wagering account are at least partially associated with a deposit of at least one unit of currency at a kiosk. 
     
     
         25 . A method of operating a gaming system, said method comprising:
 (a) wirelessly receiving data from a mobile device, said data associated with a cashless wagering account accessed via a mobile device application of the mobile device,   (b) wirelessly receiving data from the mobile device, said data associated with an amount of funds determined in association with the mobile device application of the mobile device,   (c) causing at least one processor to execute a plurality of instructions to request, from a cashless wagering server, the amount of funds from the cashless wagering account, and   (d) if the requested amount of funds is approved from the cashless wagering server:
 (i) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to cause a credit balance to be modified based on the requested amount of funds, and 
 (ii) causing a wireless transmission of data to the mobile device, said data associated with a fund transfer confirmation to be displayed by the mobile device. 
   
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the wirelessly received data is associated with a player tracking account accessed via the mobile device application of the mobile device. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein a balance of the cashless wagering account is viewable via the mobile device application. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 25 , which includes, if the credit balance is reduced to less than a designated amount, independent of any player input, causing a wireless transmission of a request for an additional amount of funds to be transferred from the cashless wagering account. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the requested amount of funds is selected from the group consisting of: an amount of funds selected from a listing of different amounts of funds, a method default amount of funds, and a player configured default amount of funds. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 25 , which includes, if a request to cashout the credit balance to the cashless wagering account is received: causing a wireless transmission to the cashless wagering server of an amount of the credit balance, and causing a wireless transmission of data to the mobile device, said data associated with a cashout confirmation to be displayed by the mobile device. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the request to cashout the credit balance to the cashless wagering account is associated with data wirelessly received from the mobile device. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 25 , which includes, prior to wirelessly receiving said data associated with the cashless wagering account, receiving an authorization token from the mobile device. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the received authorization token expires after a designated amount of time. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the data is wirelessly communicated via a wireless protocol selected from the group consisting of: a near field communication protocol, a WiFi protocol, a Bluetooth protocol, a Bluetooth Low Energy protocol, and a mobile device network protocol. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34 , which includes causing the at least one display device to temporality display a QR code, said wireless protocol being associated with the mobile device application of the mobile device scanning the displayed QR code. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 25 , which includes, if a physical item is received via an acceptor, modifying the credit balance based, at least in part, on a monetary value associated with the received physical item, and if a cashout input is received via a cashout device, causing an initiation of any payout associated with the credit balance to the cashless wagering account accessed via the mobile device application of the mobile device. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 25 , which includes, if a first physical item is received via an acceptor, modifying the credit balance based, at least in part, on a monetary value associated with the received first physical item, and if a cashout input is received via the cashout device, causing an initiation of any payout of a second physical device having a monetary value associated with the credit balance. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 25 , which includes, if a wager is placed in association with a play of a game after the wireless transmission of data associated with the fund transfer confirmation to be displayed by the mobile device:
 (A) deducting the placed wager from the credit balance,   (B) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to determine a game outcome,   (C) causing at least one display device to display the determined game outcome,   (D) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to determine any award associated with the determined game outcome, and   (E) causing the at least one display device to display any determined award associated with the determined game outcome.   
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 38 , wherein any determined game award is at least one selected from the group of: a quantity of monetary credits, a quantity of non-monetary credits, a quantity of promotional credits, and a quantity of player tracking points.