(19) United States
`(12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2013/0073447 A1
`Smith
`(43) Pub. Date:
`Mar. 21, 2013
`
`US 2013 0073447A1
`
`(54) FUNDING SYSTEM FORVERIFIED FUNDS
`TRANSFERN AGAMING ENVIRONMENT
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`(76) Inventor: Michael Smith, Las Vegas, NV (US)
`
`(21)
`
`Appl. No.: 13/233,896
`
`(22)
`
`Filed:
`
`Sep.15, 2011
`
`Publication Classification
`
`(51)
`
`(52)
`
`Int. C.
`G06O40/00
`U.S. C.
`USPC ............................................................ 705/39
`
`(2006.01)
`
`A funding system for gaming establishments provides veri
`fied fund transfers from a player's personal account to the
`gaming establishments. The funding system may utilize a
`funding account for holding player funds and a player track
`ing account. The funding account may be owned by the player
`and receive funds from the player's personal accounts. Fund
`transfers between the funding account and a gaming estab
`lishment may be verified in a verification process comprising
`one or more verification steps. This reduces or eliminates
`unauthorized or unintended fund transfers. The funding sys
`tem may associate a player's funding account with the play
`er's player tracking account. In this manner, a player may
`utilize a player tracking card to transfer funds between his or
`her funding account and a gaming establishment.
`
`Present
`Application Form
`
`Receive
`Application
`Information
`
`Verify Application
`Information
`
`Send Application
`Information to
`Bonk
`
`Send Application
`Information to
`Player Card Center
`
`424
`
`Receive Debit
`Card Number
`
`Receive Player
`Tracking Card Number
`
`428
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Associate Funding
`and Player Accounts
`
`
`
`4.32
`
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`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Mar. 21, 2013 Sheet 1 of 3
`
`US 2013/0073447 A1
`
`
`
`Gaming Establishment
`
`136
`
`
`
`
`
`Player Card Center
`
`12O
`
`132
`
`Player's Bank or
`Credit Cord
`$
`Financial Institution
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`2O4
`
`116
`
`104
`--Gaming Establishment -- 136
`Funding Platform
`
`108
`
`Player Card Center
`
`12O
`
`FIG 2
`
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`Patent Application Publication
`
`Mar. 21, 2013 Sheet 2 of 3
`
`US 2013/0073447 A1
`
`3O4
`
`328
`
`
`
`
`
`
`to Findricid/
`Institution
`
`to Player
`Cord Center
`
`to Gaming
`Establishment
`
`to Access
`Terrn ind?
`
`
`
`Present
`Application Form
`
`Receive
`Application
`Information
`
`Verify Application
`In forrnation
`
`Send Application
`Information to
`Bank
`
`Send Application
`Inforndition to
`Player Card Center
`
`424
`
`Receive Debit
`Card Nurnber
`
`
`
`Receive Player
`Tracking Card Number
`
`428
`
`Associate Funding
`and Player Accounts
`
`452
`
`FIG. 4
`
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`Patent Application Publication
`
`Mar. 21, 2013 Sheet 3 of 3
`
`US 2013/0073447 A1
`
`Receive Player
`Card Info
`
`
`
`
`
`Transfer Fron
`Player Funds
`
`
`
`Identify Funding
`Account
`
`508
`
`Present Verification
`
`512
`
`516
`
`FIG. 5
`
`Personal
`Transfer
`- - - -
`(bank)
`(bank)
`Funding Account
`Personal Account
`(checking, etc.)
`(MC/VISA Debt Acct.)
`
`2O4
`
`128
`
`Personal
`&
`Verified
`Transfer
`
`
`
`6O4
`
`Player's Casino
`Account
`
`Casino
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Casino's Account
`
`136
`
`FIG. 6
`
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`US 2013/0073447 A1
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`Mar. 21, 2013
`
`FUNDING SYSTEM FORVERIFIED FUNDS
`TRANSFER IN AGAMING ENVIRONMENT
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`1. Field of the Invention
`0001
`0002. The invention relates to electronic funds transfer
`systems and in particular to a verified account and player card
`for funds transfer with chargeback prevention.
`0003 2. Related Art
`0004 Though businesses enjoy benefits from receiving
`funds via credit cards there are numerous drawbacks. Forone,
`the business must pay a portion of each transaction to the card
`issuer. In addition, some issuers charge a transaction fee
`despite such transactions being fully electronic and auto
`mated.
`0005 Worse yet, card issuers allow cardholders to dispute
`charges in a process known as a chargeback. During a charge
`back funds are removed from the business’s account and
`placed in the card holder's account. The business must then
`justify the charge or the cardholder will keep the funds even
`though goods or services have been delivered to the card
`holder.
`0006 Though useful in situations involving actual fraud,
`from the perspective of businesses, there is little to prevent
`card holders from disputing a charge. Accordingly, the
`chargeback, though useful in situations where actual fraud
`has occurred, has been used improperly by card holders.
`0007 For example, one area where chargebacks are
`extremely problematic is in the area of casino-style wagering.
`As detailed below, gamblers who have remorse about losing
`money after engaging in wagering frequently attempt to
`recover their losses by seeking a chargeback.
`0008. From the discussion that follows, it will become
`apparent that the present invention addresses the deficiencies
`associated with the prior art while providing numerous addi
`tional advantages and benefits not contemplated or possible
`with prior art constructions.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`0009. A funding system for transferring player funds to
`and from a gaming establishment is disclosed herein. The
`funding system provides a number of benefits. For instance,
`the funding system may utilize a funding account that is
`owned by the player to transfer funds to a gaming establish
`ment. The player's funds may be first transferred to this
`funding account from another personal account, and then
`from their personal account to a player's trust org or casino
`account. The player may then make wagers using funds in
`their casino account. The funding system also provides a
`verification process that verifies player intent to transfer and
`player authorization prior to the transfer of funds between
`those accounts.
`0010 Since these transfers (from a player's personal
`banking account to their funding account and then from their
`funding account to their casino account) are between a play
`er's own accounts, and because the transfers must be verified
`by the player, it is unlikely that the transfer can be deemed
`improper or unauthorized. In addition, chargebacks are
`reduced or eliminated because the player's transfers of funds
`to their funding account and then to their casino account are
`between the player's own accounts (and do not comprise
`merchant transfers). Further, the transfer of funds from the
`player's casino account to the casino is not a covered mer
`
`chant transfer because the player's casino account is gov
`erned by the casino and not the banking system. This makes
`Such fund transfers safer and reduces or eliminates the need
`for chargebacks or the like.
`0011. The funding system may have a variety of configu
`rations. For instance, in one exemplary embodiment a fund
`ing system may comprise a player card server configured to
`accept application form information and to provide a player
`tracking account identifier, a platform server, and one or more
`access terminals or devices. The player card server may also
`be configured to issue a player tracking card to a player. A
`financial server configured to receive the application form
`information and to provide the funding account identifier may
`also be included.
`0012. The platform server may be configured to receive
`the player tracking account identifier from the player card
`server and a funding account identifier from a financial insti
`tution via one or more communications devices. The platform
`server may also associate the funding account identifier with
`the player tracking account identifier Such that they may be
`retrieved together.
`0013 The access devices may be configured to receive the
`player tracking account identifier and to request a fund trans
`fer utilizing the funding account identifier. The fund transfer
`may send funds from a funding account identified by the
`funding account identifier to a player's casino account, from
`which funds may be wagered and transferred to a gaming
`establishment's bank or other account. The funding account
`may be configured to receive funds from a player's personal
`account. It is noted that the funding account and the personal
`account are preferably both owned by the player.
`0014. It is noted that the access devices are configured to
`verify the fund transfer at least one time before the funds are
`transferred from the funding account. For example, the access
`devices may present a plurality of questions to Verify the fund
`transfer before the funds are transferred from the funding
`account. One or more of the access devices may be configured
`to present the application form to one or more players and to
`accept the application form information.
`0015. In another exemplary embodiment the funding sys
`tem may comprise a funding server configured to provide
`funds to a gaming establishment. The funding server may
`comprise one or more communications devices configured to
`receive a funding account identifier and a player account
`identifier. The funding account identifier identifying a par
`ticular funding account and the player account identifieriden
`tifying a particular player account. The communications
`devices may be in communication with a financial institu
`tions server to communicate transfer instructions to transfer
`funds from the funding account to the gaming establishment.
`0016 One or more storage devices may be configured to
`store the funding account identifier and the player account
`identifier such that the funding account identifier and the
`player account identifier are associated with one another. The
`storage devices may also store authorization information,
`which may be provided along with the funding account iden
`tifier to transfer funds from the funding account to the gaming
`establishment. It is noted that storage devices may also store
`application form information received from a player.
`0017. One or more processors may be provided as well.
`The processors may be configured to receive the player
`account identifier and retrieve the associated funding account
`identifier. The associated funding account identifier may be
`used by the processors to transfer funds from the funding
`
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`US 2013/0073447 A1
`
`Mar. 21, 2013
`
`account to a gaming establishment. The processors may also
`verify a transfer of funds with a player one or more times
`before funds are transferred from the funding account to the
`gaming establishment. For example, the processors may
`verify the transfer of funds by verifying answers to one or
`more questions received from a player. As another example,
`the application form information may include one or more
`answers to one or more questions, wherein the processors
`compare one or more answers from a player with the answers
`to verify the fund transfer.
`0018 Various methods of funding a gaming establishment
`are disclosed hereinas well. For example, in one embodiment
`a method of funding gaming establishment transactions com
`prises receiving player identification information via an
`application form, sharing the player identification informa
`tion with a financial institution to establish a funding account
`at the financial institution, and providing a player account and
`player tracking card to a player identified in the player iden
`tification information. The player account and funding
`account may be associated with one another so that they may
`be retrieved together. The funding account may be established
`with the player as its owner. In general, funds will be received
`at the funding account from a player's personal account.
`0019. The method may also include receiving a player
`account identifier from the player tracking card, Verifying a
`fund transfer by requesting verification information from a
`player one or more times, and transferring funds from the
`funding account associated with the player account identified
`by the player account identifier. It is noted that the verification
`information may be requested a plurality of times. The veri
`fication information may be first received via the application
`form.
`0020. Other systems, methods, features and advantages of
`the invention will be or will become apparent to one with skill
`in the art upon examination of the following figures and
`detailed description. It is intended that all such additional
`systems, methods, features and advantages be included
`within this description, be within the scope of the invention,
`and be protected by the accompanying claims.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`0021. The components in the figures are not necessarily to
`scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the
`principles of the invention. In the figures, like reference
`numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the dif
`ferent views.
`0022 FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary
`funding system.
`0023 FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary
`funding system.
`0024 FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary
`funding platform.
`0025 FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary
`application process.
`0026 FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary
`funding process.
`0027 FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary
`funds transfer via the funding system.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENTS
`0028. In the following description, numerous specific
`details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough
`
`description of the present invention. It will be apparent, how
`ever, to one skilled in the art, that the present invention may be
`practiced without these specific details. In other instances,
`well-known features have not been described in detail so as
`not to obscure the invention.
`0029. In general, a funding system in accordance with the
`invention allows funds to be electronically transferred by
`players to a gaming establishment for the purpose of making
`one or more wagers. The benefits of the funding system
`include the convenience of electronic funds transfers versus
`cash, check, or other transactions. In contrast to credit cards,
`however, the gaming establishment is protected against ille
`gitimate chargebacks when using the funding system to
`accept funds. In addition, the funding system may provide
`player cards that provide additional benefits to players and
`gaming establishments in addition to the benefits of elec
`tronic funds transfers.
`0030 The prevention of illegitimate chargebacks is highly
`advantageous, especially to gaming establishments. In tradi
`tional credit card issuer and gaming establishment relation
`ships, the card issuer requires the gaming establishment to
`agree to the chargeback process where funds can be automati
`cally removed from the gaming establishment’s account and
`given back to a player. The removed funds are retained by the
`player unless the gaming establishment can show the trans
`action was valid.
`0031. A gaming establishment is a unique type of enter
`tainment venue, which is why gaming establishments are
`sought after by adults from virtually every walk of life. For
`one, alcoholic beverages are readily available. In addition, the
`environment in a gaming establishment is often interesting,
`exciting, and fast paced especially when one is wagering on
`his or her game of choice. Despite the fact that players may
`have fully enjoyed their time at the gaming establishment and
`experienced the excitement of winning and losing one or
`more wagering games, there is an incentive for players (espe
`cially those experiencing remorse from losing money) to
`dispute legitimate charges by the gaming establishment.
`Given the exciting fast paced entertainment environment pro
`vided by gaming establishments and aura Surrounding gam
`ing establishments, credit card issuers may be more willing to
`grant illegitimate chargebacks against the gaming establish
`ments. This is highly undesirable as it reduces the profits
`rightfully earned by a gaming establishment.
`0032. A funding system in accordance with the present
`invention will now be described with regard to FIG. 1. FIG. 1
`is a block diagram illustrating an arrangement of components
`or parts of the funding system. As can be seen, the funding
`system 104 may utilize various currency and other accounts
`held at various institutions. The funding system 104 may also
`provide a facility to link Such accounts such that funds may be
`transferred from a funding account via another account. Such
`as a player card account or trust account at a gaming estab
`lishment or the gaming establishment's financial institution.
`0033. As shown in FIG. 1, the funding system 104 may be
`formed by or utilize various elements. FIG. 1 also illustrates
`exemplary relationships between these elements. To illus
`trate, a bank or other financial institution 116 may provide
`one or more funding accounts 128 (e.g., debit card, checking,
`savings, or other accounts) for holding and transferring a
`player's funds. The financial institution 116 may issue a debit
`card 124 or the like through which funds in the funding
`account 128 and the funding account itself may be accessed.
`
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`US 2013/0073447 A1
`
`Mar. 21, 2013
`
`0034. A player card center 120 may provide player track
`ing accounts for players and gaming establishments. The
`player card center 120 may be its own entity or may be part of
`a gaming establishment. In one or more embodiments, the
`player card center 120 may issue player tracking cards 112 for
`use by players in accessing their player accounts at a gaming
`establishment. For example, players may accumulate rewards
`Such as player points and redeem Such points via their player
`tracking card 112. A player may be eligible for various prizes
`through their participation and/or use of a player tracking
`card 112 at a gaming establishment. In addition, it is contem
`plated that a player may access a funding account he or she
`has at the gaming establishment using the player tracking
`card
`0035. The player tracking card 112 and debit card 124 may
`have information stored thereon or which is otherwise asso
`ciated therewith that identifies a player's account at a gaming
`establishment and/or financial institution 116, respectively.
`For example, an account number or information which may
`otherwise identify Such an account may be stored or associ
`ated on these cards. A player may then access the identified
`account(s) at their respective places. In one or more embodi
`ments, the player may be prompted to verify access to the
`accounts, such as by inputting a PIN or other code or pass
`word.
`0036) A linking platform 108 may be included in the fund
`ing system 104 as well. In general, the linking platform 108
`associates a player's funding account 128 with his or her
`player account 132. This may occur in various ways. For
`example, as shown in FIG. 1, a funding account 128 and
`player card account 132 are associated via their respective
`associated debit card 124 and player tracking card 112. The
`account numbers for the funding account 128 and player
`account 132 may be linked together to form this association.
`For example, these account numbers may be associated in a
`database or other storage medium to link the two together.
`0037. A gaming establishment 136 may utilize the ser
`vices of the funding platform 108, player card center 120,
`and/or financial institution 116. Such as via one or more
`communication links. For example, as will be described fur
`ther below, funds may be transferred to a gaming establish
`ment from a players funding account 128 via a player tracking
`card 112 that was associated with the funding account by the
`funding platform 108. One or more verification steps may
`occur prior to executing the transfer to ensure that the trans
`action is legitimate. This protects the player's funds to greatly
`reduce, if not eliminate, the need for chargebacks.
`0038 FIG. 2 provides a more detailed view of the funding
`system 104. In this exemplary embodiment, communication
`links are shown as solid lines while fund transfers are shown
`as dashed lines. It is noted that although they are shown as
`having particular communication links, additional communi
`cations links may be provided to foster direct communication
`between elements of the funding system 104.
`0039. As can be seen from FIG. 2, the funding platform
`108 may function as a hub to orchestrate fund transfers
`between a player, various accounts, and the gaming establish
`ment 136. This may be accomplished via communication
`between the funding platform 108 and the financial institution
`116, player card center 120, and gaming establishment 136.
`In one or more embodiments, one or more servers or the like
`at these elements may perform the communications and other
`operations needed to execute a funds transfer. For example,
`the funding platform 108 (after receiving verification from a
`
`player) may electronically initiate a funds transfer from the
`financial institution 116 by communicating an account num
`ber, amount to be transferred, authorization information, etc.
`... with a server or other device of the financial institution.
`0040. As can be seen, the block diagram of FIG. 2 also
`shows a player's bank 204. This illustrates that funds can be
`transferred to the financial institution 116 from the players
`personal bank 204, Such as a person checking or savings
`account. Alternatively or in addition, funds could be trans
`ferred from a credit card account or other account to the
`financial institution 116. The funds may be transferred elec
`tronically or physically, such as by check or cash (i.e., a
`deposit to the financial institution 116).
`0041 As described above with regard to FIG. 1, the trans
`ferred funds may be held in a funding account at the financial
`institution 116. The funding account generally holds funds
`transferrable to a gaming establishment 136 for the purpose of
`wagering at one or more wagering games. The funds in the
`funding account could also be used for purchasing goods and
`services (e.g., room and board, food, show tickets) at the
`gaming establishment 136 as well. As disclosed below, in a
`preferred embodiment, a player transfers funds from their
`funding account to a player trust or casino account associated
`with the casino or gaming establishment. The player then
`wagers funds from that casino account, with wagered funds
`being transferred to the gaming establishment or casino.
`0042. It is noted that a communication link between the
`financial institution 116 and the funding platform 108 may be
`used to share account information related to the funding
`account. For example, the account number may be shared
`between the funding platform 108 and financial institution in
`this manner, such as when the player establishes an account.
`In addition, a communication link between the player card
`center 120 and funding platform 108 may be used to share
`account information related to the player account. For
`example, the player account number may be provided to the
`funding platform 108 in this manner. It is contemplated that
`the funding platform 108 may receive account information
`related to various accounts in other ways. For example, a debit
`card and/or player tracking card could be used to provide
`account numbers and other account information to the fund
`ing platform 108, Such as via a card reader or by manual input.
`By accepting account information from various sources, the
`funding platform 108 may associate the player account with
`the funding account, Such as disclosed above.
`0043 FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary
`funding platform 108. In one or more embodiments, the fund
`ing platform 108 may be configured as a server having one or
`more processors 304 that execute instructions to provide the
`functionality of the funding platform as disclosed herein. It is
`noted that one or more servers may form a funding platform
`108, and that each server may perform separate or similar
`tasks.
`0044) The instructions may be hardwired into the proces
`sors 304 and/or retrievably stored on a storage device 308 for
`execution by the processors. It is noted that the storage device
`308 may utilized various data storage technologies (e.g.,
`magnetic, optical, or flash storage) now known or later devel
`oped. In addition, a storage device 308 could utilize remov
`able media upon which data is stored. Also, a storage device
`308 may be remote from the funding platform 108 that is
`remotely accessible via one or more communications links
`(e.g., network attached storage, storage area network, etc. . . .
`). The funding platform 108 may also include one or more
`
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`
`memory devices 312. Typically these will be temporary stor
`age. Such as RAM or cache memory. The memory devices
`312 may be used to store various types of data such that it is
`quickly accessible to a processor 304.
`0045. The funding platform 108 may also comprise one or
`more communication devices 316. The communication
`devices 316 may be hardware interfaces that allow the fund
`ing platform 108 to communicate with other servers or
`devices. For example, a communication device 316 may be a
`network interface card. The communication devices 316 may
`communicate via one or more wired and/or wireless connec
`tions, paths or links. In one or more embodiments, the com
`munication devices 316 may be used to execute fund trans
`fers, such as by identifying a source account, a destination
`account, an amount to be transferred, and/or providing autho
`rization for the transfers.
`0046. As shown in FIG. 3, each communication device
`316 may be capable of establishing one or more independent
`communication links 320. It is contemplated that each com
`munication link 320 may be used to communicate with a
`particular element of the funding system. For example, a first
`communication link 320A may form a connection with a
`financial institution while a second communication link320B
`may form a connection with a gaming establishment. The
`player card center and banks or other financial institutions
`may be connected to the funding platform 108 in this manner
`as well. It is contemplated that each communication link320
`may utilize one or more communication protocols and that
`the communication protocols used by the communication
`links need not be the same. It is noted that, for security or other
`reasons, multiple communication devices 316 may be pro
`vided in some embodiments. One or more or each of these
`communication devices 316 may provide a single dedicated
`communication link 320 to a particular element of the fund
`ing System.
`0047. As stated, the one or more storage devices 308 may
`store one or more instructions or machine readable code for
`execution by a processor 304. In one or more embodiments,
`the storage devices 308 may also store various account infor
`mation 324 and related associations. It is noted that machine
`readable code and account information 324 may be stored on
`physically separate storage media of the one or more storage
`devices 308 in some embodiments. In other words, machine
`readable code may be stored on at least one first storage
`medium while account information 324 may be stored on at
`least one distinct second storage medium.
`0048. The account information 324 may be stored in an
`organized fashion. For example, the account information 324
`may be organized in flat files, tables, cells, rows, and/or col
`umns, such as in a database or other data storage format. It is
`contemplated that various storage formats may be used as
`long as the desired fields or other records in the account
`information 324 can be retrieved when needed.
`0049 Account information 324 may comprise various
`data. For example, in one embodiment, the account informa
`tion may include player account information 328 and funding
`account information 332. The account information 324 may
`also include data to associate or link the player account infor
`mation 328 and the funding account information 332 such
`that one may be retrieved along with the other. For example,
`a particular player's player account information 328 and his
`or her funding account information 332 may be linked by
`storing each with the same unique identifier. Both accounts
`may then be retrieved using the unique identifier. In addition
`
`or alternatively, the account information 328,332 or an iden
`tifier thereofmay be stored in the same row or column (or the
`like) of a database or other data storage format. For example,
`an account number for the player and funding accounts may
`be stored together in a database. In this manner, the player
`account information 328 can be retrieved along with the fund
`ing account information 332, or vice versa.
`0050. An example of account information showing exem
`plary fields or records that may be stored by the account
`information follows:
`0051. Account Information:
`0052 1. Player Name
`0053 2. Player Address
`0054 3. Player Contact Information (e.g., telephone num
`ber, email)
`0055 4. Player Account Number (or other player account
`identifier)
`0056 5. Funding Account Number (or other funding
`account identifier)
`0.057
`6. Authorization Information
`0.058 As can be seen, the account information may
`include information identifying a player as well as informa
`tion identifying a player's player account and funding
`account. It is noted that the account information may also
`include player tracking information, Such as the number of
`points or other credits a player has earned from wagering or
`other activity at a gaming establishment.
`0059. As detailed herein, casino or gaming establishment
`preferably also creates a player trust or casino account for
`accepting funds from the player's funding account and from
`which funds are wagered to the casino. This player trust or
`casino account is preferably associated with oridentified with
`the player's tracking account in similar manner to that
`described above.
`0060 Operation of the funding system will now be
`described. The funding system may provide an application
`process through which the ability to transfer funds using the
`funding system is established. In addition, the funding system
`may provide a transfer process through which funds can be
`transferred with the funding system (after the application
`process is complete.
`0061
`FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating steps that may
`be executed during an exemplary application process. The
`steps may be performed on the funding platform or on various
`other elements of the funding system. For example, one or
`more web or other servers may be used to provide applica
`tions and/or facilitate the application process, as will now be
`described.
`0062. At a step 404, an electronic application form may be
`presented to a player wishing to sign up for to use the funding
`system. It is contemplated that the player may be provided
`one or more incentives by a gaming establishment, Such as
`prizes or gifts, to encourage sign up. The application form
`may be a web page or other electronic document distributed to
`the player. For example, the player may receive and fill out the
`application from on his or her computer or other device. The
`application form may be hosted on a server of the funding
`platform such that it may be remotely accessed. Alternatively,
`the application form may be emailed or otherwise sent to the
`player to be filled out.
`0063. It is noted that the application form may be paper
`based as well. In Such cases, the player may pickup an appli
`
`EVERI EX. 1005; Page 8
`Everi v. Sightline IPR2022-00707
`
`

`

`US 2013/0073447 A1
`
`Mar. 21, 2013
`
`cation form at the gaming establishment, player card center,
`or other location. Alternatively, the application form may be
`mailed or faxed to the player.
`0064. At a step 408, information requested by the appli
`cation form may be collected or received at the funding plat
`form. In one embodiment for example, the information may
`be received from a player's personal computer via a commu
`nication device of the funding platform.
`0065. The application form may request various types of
`information. For example, the application form may request
`player identifying information, Such as the player's name,
`address, phone number, social security number