Systems and methods for distributed gaming voucher control

Abstract

A system that includes a first input/output (I/O) device configured to generate a code based at least in part on a unique machine identifier of the first I/O device, and a second I/O device communicatively coupled to the first I/O device via a network. The second I/O device is configured to read the code from a tangible medium, parse the code to determine the machine identifier, transmit a validation request directly to the first I/O device via the network, and receive a response message directly from the first I/O device, wherein the response message indicates a number of credits available to a user at the second I/O device.

1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A system comprising:
 a first input/output (I/O) device comprising a code generator, said code generator configured to generate an electronic code that uniquely identifies said first I/O device, said first I/O device configured to output the generated electronic code wirelessly; and   a second I/O device communicatively coupled to said first I/O device, said second I/O device configured to:
 receive the generated code; 
 parse the read code to identify said first I/O device; 
 transmit a validation request to said first I/O device; and 
 receive a response message from said first I/O device, wherein the response message indicates an amount of value available to a user at said second I/O device. 
   
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein said first I/O device comprises a physical media printer and said first I/O device is configured to output the generated electronic code on a physical medium using the physical media printer. 
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein said second I/O device comprises a physical media reader, said second I/O device configured to read the generated code from the physical medium using said physical media reader. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein said second I/O device is configured to read the generated code from a wireless device. 
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein said first I/O device forms a part of at least one of a gaming machine, a kiosk, an automated teller machine (ATM), and a point of sale (POS) device. 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein said second I/O device forms a part of at least one of a gaming machine, a kiosk, an ATM, and a POS device. 
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein at least one of said first I/O device and said second I/O device comprises a physical media printer and a physical media reader. 
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein said first I/O device comprises a memory and a processor coupled to said memory, said processor configured to:
 store the code in said memory;   receive the verification request directly from said second I/O device; and   transmit the response message directly to said second I/O device.   
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein said memory is configured to store a plurality of unique voucher identifiers, said processor is further configured to:
 parse the verification request to determine a voucher identifier of a voucher being verified;   compare the voucher identifier to the plurality of voucher identifiers stored in said memory; and   determine from said memory the amount of value available to the user if the voucher identifier matches one of the plurality of voucher identifiers.   
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein said second I/O device is further configured to apply the amount of value included in the response message to a credit display for use by the user. 
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein said first I/O device and said second I/O device are communicatively coupled through a network. 
     
     
         32 . An input/output (I/O) device for use in a gaming environment, said I/O device comprising:
 a memory area;   a communication interface; and   a processor coupled to said memory area and said communication interface, said processor configured to:
 read a first code received from a source device, the first code comprising at least one of a physical medium and a wireless device; 
 parse the first code to uniquely identify the source device; 
 transmit a validation request via said communication interface directly to a second input/output (I/O) device associated with the identified source device; and 
 receive a response message directly from the second I/O device, wherein the response message indicates approval to apply a number of credits available to a user to a credit display associated with the I/O device. 
   
     
     
         33 . The I/O device of  claim 32 , wherein said I/O device forms a part of at least one of a gaming machine, a kiosk, and a point of sale (POS) device. 
     
     
         34 . The I/O device of  claim 32 , further comprising a scanning device configured to read the code from the physical medium and to transmit the code to said processor. 
     
     
         35 . The I/O device of  claim 33 , wherein said scanning device comprises one of a barcode scanner, a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader, and an optical reader. 
     
     
         36 . The I/O device of  claim 33 , wherein said processor is further configured to:
 generate the first code based at least in part on a unique machine identifier associated said source device;   store the first code in said memory area;   receive the verification request via said network interface; and   transmit the response message via said network interface.   
     
     
         37 . The I/O device of  claim 32 , wherein the physical medium is a voucher, said memory area is further configured to store a plurality of unique voucher identifiers, said processor is further configured to:
 parse the verification request to determine an identifier of the voucher;   compare the identifier of the voucher to the plurality of voucher identifiers; and   determine from said memory area the number of credits available to the user based on the identifier if the identifier matches one of the plurality of voucher identifiers.   
     
     
         38 . The I/O device of  claim 32 , wherein said I/O device is further configured to output the code on the physical medium. 
     
     
         39 . The I/O device of  claim 38 , wherein said I/O device comprises a printer. 
     
     
         40 . The method for verifying a gaming voucher using a first input/output (I/O) device and a second I/O device, said method comprising:
 generating a code based at least in part on a unique identifier of the first I/O device of a gaming machine;   storing the code in a memory area of the first I/O device;   receiving a verification request from the second I/O device via a network;   determining, by the code in the memory area, a number of credits available to a player at the second I/O device; and   transmitting a response message from the first I/O device to the second I/O device via the network, wherein the response includes the number of available credits available to the player at the second I/O device.   
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein generating a code comprises generating the code based at least in part on the machine identifier and a unique voucher identifier. 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein storing the code comprises storing the code in the memory area in association with the voucher identifier. 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein determining a number of credits comprises:
 parsing the verification request to determine a unique voucher identifier;   searching the memory area for the voucher identifier; and   determining the number of credits associated with the voucher identifier.   
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 40 , further comprising outputting the code on a tangible medium. 
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 44 , wherein the verification request is based on the second I/O device reading the code from the tangible medium. 
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the code is generated at a conclusion of a play session by the player at the gaming machine.