Patent Publication Number: US-2005130735-A1

Title: Electronic betting card wagering system

Description:
BACKGROUND  
      1. Technical Field  
      The present invention relates to wagering networks employing electronic betting cards. More specifically, this invention relates to a cashless totalisator network including an electronic card based wagering and payment system.  
      2. Background Information  
      Rapid advances in consumer electronics technology has given rise to widely popular cashless payment mechanisms, including debit cards and credit cards. The freedom, flexibility, and cost benefits associated with cashless payment mechanisms have fueled their introduction and acceptance into many areas of commerce. In some instances, for example, electronic betting cards are accepted at wagering establishments to directly activate games of chance such as slot machines.  
      However, in other areas, wagering systems remain a paper based endeavor requiring physical manipulation of currency, tickets, and other wagering related records, accounts or reports. As a result, such wagering systems suffer significant drawbacks including requiring the issuance, redemption, and tracking of tickets and requiring players to keep tickets safe and redeem the tickets. Thus, players often expend resources to ensure that a ticket does not get lost or destroyed and to redeem a winning ticket either personally or by mail, instead of concentrating on the wagering events.  
      Thus, a need has long existed for addressing the problems noted above and other previously experienced.  
     BRIEF SUMMARY  
      Methods and systems consistent with the present invention provide wholly or partially cashless totalisator wagering. For example, a wagering network may include a processing system that recognizes a multiple mode electronic betting card, a network interface connected to the processing system, and one or more wagering terminals connected to the network interface. Each wagering terminal may include an electronic betting card reader, an input device, and an output device.  
      The multiple mode electronic betting card may include two modes: a betting card mode and a financial services card mode. The processing system, as part of a closed loop totalisator wagering network, recognizes the electronic betting card for use in its first mode as a betting card in the closed loop wagering network. One or more third party financial networks also recognize and accept the electronic betting card as a financial services card. Nevertheless, the closed loop totalisator wagering network may maintain independence from the third party financial networks. Thus, for example, the closed loop wagering network may credit and debit a patron betting account maintained in the closed loop wagering network without electronically transferring money between the patron betting account and the third party financial institutions.  
      In one implementation, each wagering terminal includes an electronic betting card reader for reading patron indicia from the multiple mode electronic betting card. In addition, each wagering terminal may include an input device for accepting a totalisator wager and a totalisator event selection. The wagering terminal will then transmit the patron indicia, totalisator wager, and totalisator event selection to the processing system.  
      The processing system implements totalisator wagering. To that end, the processing system adds the totalisator wager into a wager pool, supplements the wager pool with additional wagers over time, and responsively determines a patron payoff amount based on the wager pool or on a sporting event with odds. When the patron has won a bet, the processing system may then directly credit the patron betting account with the patron payoff amount.  
      As another example, a wagering method may include recognizing a dual mode electronic betting card operable in a first mode for interaction with a closed loop totalisator wagering network and operable in a second mode with a third party financial network. The method may also read patron identification indicia from the dual mode electronic betting card into the closed loop totalisator wagering network. As noted above, the closed loop wagering network credits and debits a patron betting account maintained in the closed loop totalisator wagering network without electronically transferring money between the patron betting account and the third party financial institution.  
      In operation, the wagering method proceeds to accept a patron authorization input, authorize use of the electronic betting card by verifying the patron authorization input, and accept a wager and an event selection. The patron wager (as well as wagers for additional patrons) are added into a wager pool for a wagering event corresponding to the event selection. In response to reception of an event result for the wagering event, the method credits the patron betting account linked to the electronic betting card with a patron payoff amount determined in accordance with established totalisator techniques. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  illustrates a closed loop totalisator wagering network.  
       FIG. 2  shows a process for establishing a patron account and issuing a dual mode betting card for use in the network shown in  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 3  shows a process for funding a patron account maintained in the network shown in  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 4  shows a process for cashless totalisator wagering that may be employed by the network shown in  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 5  shows an expanded view of the processing system introduced in  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 6  shows a block diagram of a multiple mode electronic betting card that may be used in the wagering network shown in  FIG. 1 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       FIG. 1  shows a closed loop totalisator wagering network  100  (“wagering network  100 ”) in communication over a data network  102  with a third party financial network  104 . The wagering network  100  may handle many types of totalisator wagering, including, as examples, horse and dog racing, sportsbook, and lottery wagering. The data network  102  may represent, as examples, the Internet, a proprietary local or wide area network, or another communication network that supports general purpose communication between computer systems. The third party financial network  104  processes general purpose financial transactions. Thus, for example, the financial network  104  may represent a credit card processing company that processes credit card transactions, a traditional bank that processes debit card transactions, a private lending organization, or another financial organization.  
      The wagering network  100  includes a processing system  106  and one or more wagering terminals  108 . In addition, the wagering network  100  includes one or more wagering windows  110  and one or more registration windows  112 . The wagering terminals  108 , wagering windows  110 , and registration windows  112  may include an electronic betting card reader  114 , an input device  146 , and an output device  148  and may connect to the processing system  106  through network interfaces. The electronic card reader may be a magnetic stripe reader, a radio frequency (RF) card reader, or a smart card reader, as examples. The input device  146  may represent a mouse, keyboard, touchscreen, voice recognition device, or another input mechanism. The output device  148  provides feedback to the patron or to the wagering network employee, and may be implemented as a display, voice output, printer, or another feedback mechanism.  
      The wagering terminals  108  provide automated patron access to the totalisator wagering functions provided by the wagering network  100 . The patron may interact with the wagering terminal  108  to check pending wagering events, place bets, monitor event outcomes, obtain a payout from a betting account, and check account balances, as examples. The wagering windows  110  provide similar access, but may be staffed with wagering network employees who assist the patron with the placing wagers, obtaining payouts, and monitoring wagering events. The registration windows  112  provide a location where a new patron may register and obtain an electronic betting card as explained in more detail below.  
      The processing system  106  includes a processor  116 , a memory  118 , and a network interface  120 . The processing system  106  may represent a processing system in place at a remote totalisator company, may represent a processing system local to the wagering establishment (e.g., a local to a horse track), or may represent processing systems distributed between the two. The processing system  106  interoperates with several databases. The databases may include a patron database  122 , a personal identification number (PIN) database  124 , a property database  126 , and one or more database backups  128  for those databases.  
      The memory  118  stores programs that the processor  116  executes. To that end, the memory  118  may include an accounting program  130 , a totalisator program  132 , and an access and registration program  134 . Each will be explained in more detail below.  
      Before setting forth any additional explanation, however, it is noted that all of the discussion in this document, regardless of the particular implementation being described, is exemplary in nature, rather than limiting. For example, although selected aspects, features, or components of the wagering network are depicted as being stored in the memory  118  and databases  122 - 128 , wagering networks consistent with the present invention may employ a wide range of machine-readable media, for example, secondary storage devices such as hard disks, floppy disks, and CD-ROMs; a signal received from a network; or other forms of ROM or RAM either currently known or later developed.  
      Furthermore, although specific components of a wagering network  100  will be described, methods, systems, and articles of manufacture consistent with the wagering network may contain additional or different components. For example, the processor  116  may be a microprocessor, microcontroller, application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), discrete logic, or a combination of other types of circuits acting as explained above. Similarly, the memory  118  may be DRAM, SRAM, Flash or any other type of memory. With regard to databases, they may be separately stored and managed, incorporated into a single database, or generally logically and physically organized in many different ways. Furthermore, the databases may more generally represent data files that may be searched using techniques other than relational database queries, for example. The individual programs discussed below may be parts of a single program, separate programs, or distributed across several memories and processors.  
      The accounting program  130  and totalisator program  132  may be commercially obtained software programs. The accounting program  130  may track and maintain the accounting information for the wagering network  100 , including a record of the bets placed, wagering events, payouts, income, operating expenses, and other accounting details, including crediting and debiting the patron accounts as explained in more detail below.  
      The accounting program  130  and registration program  134  may support such features as adding new accounts, updating accounts, deleting accounts, adding value to an account, performing account balance inquiries, debiting value from an account, and performing account demographic inquiries. In addition, the accounting program  130  may include standard daily, weekly, and monthly reporting functions and may support queries relating to the non-personalized accounts opened and the accounts converted to personalized account, as well as perform account maintenance audits, credit and debit accounts, and determine an amount revolving on an account.  
      The totalisator program  132  performs processing consistent with totalisator wagering. To that end, the totalisator program  132  may collect and pool wagers from multiple patrons into a single wagering pool and determine patron payoffs based on the pool, odds, and other totalisator wagering characteristics.  
      The access and registration program  134  establishes new patron accounts and controls access to the patron accounts. As explained in more detail below, the access and registration program  134  may accept and verify authorization information provided by the patron. The program  134  thereby implements access control to the patron account linked to an electronic betting card.  
      The patron database  122  stores patron betting accounts  136 ,  138 . The patron betting accounts  136 ,  138  store patron information including name, address, phone number, fund balance, wagering history, electronic betting card number, and other information associated with the patron. The PIN database  124  stores PIN records  140 . Each PIN record may include an electronic betting card number and an associated PIN, for example.  
      The property database  126  stores a master property account record  142 . The master account record  142  may store information related to the overall operation of the wagering network  100 , including the accounting information maintained by the accounting program  130 . As examples, the master account record  142  may store payoff and income totals, patron statistics, event statistics, and other information generally applicable to the operation of the wagering network  100  as a whole.  
      Note also that the wagering network  100  may also include a website server  144 . As a result, a patron may interact with the wagering system  100  through the Internet to place bets, track events, and monitor their account information. The website server  144  provides web pages with player ID, card ID, PIN input, wager selection and input forms through which the patron may participate in wagering events from locations remote from the wagering system  100 .  
      The wagering network  100  is a closed loop network. In other words, the wagering network  100  locally maintains patron accounts without directly transferring money between the patron accounts and the third party financial network  104  (e.g., via automated clearing house (ACH) transfers). The wagering network  100  may communicate with the third party financial network  104  to process standard financial transactions, however. Thus, the patron may pay for goods and services, as examples, through the wagering window  110 , including paying for additional funding for their patron account. Because the electronic betting card is a dual mode card, the patron may also employ the betting card outside of the wagering network  100  wherever PIN based electric card transactions are supported.  
      In one implementation, the electronic betting card used with the wagering network  100  includes a card number, but does not store the account balance. Rather, the wagering network  100  itself maintains the patron account balance as part of the patron betting account  136 . In that regard, the wagering network  100  credits, debits, and otherwise maintains the patron betting account  136  so that the patron may obtain their funds directly form the wagering network  100 . The patron betting account  136  is thereby separate from a traditional bank account.  
      The electronic betting cards used in the wagering network  100  are multiple mode electronic betting cards. In one implementation, the multiple mode electronic betting cards are dual mode cards. A first mode provides patron account information specific to the wagering network  100  that is recognized and accepted by the wagering network  100 . For example, the patron account information may include a patron name, an electronic betting card number, and an ID tag recognized by the wagering network  100 . A second mode provides customer information in a format specified by the third party financial network  104 . For that reason, the dual mode card operates in both the wagering network  100  and in the financial network  104 , although, as noted above, the wagering network  100  is a closed loop network.  
      The electronic betting cards may be implemented in many ways. For examples, the betting card may include a magnetic stripe that bears information for both modes of use. As another example, the betting card may be a smart card that includes a re-writeable memory that stores the mode information.  
      Turning to  FIG. 2 , that figure shows a process  200  that the registration program  134  may employ to establish a patron account and issue a dual mode betting card for use in the wagering network  100  shown in  FIG. 1 . Initially, a patron approaches the registration window  112  and submits patron data (Step  202 ). The patron data may include, as examples, patron name, address, phone number, and preferred PIN number. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the patron may also provide debit card information, credit card information (e.g., name, credit card number, and expiration date) or personal check registration information (e.g., patron name, bank name, account number, routing numbers, and other account and bank indicia).  
      The registration program  134  accepts the patron data (Step  204 ) communicated over the network interface  120 . In response, the registration program  134  adds the patron data to the master account  142  (Step  206 ). In addition, the registration program  134  creates a new patron account  136  in the patron database  122  (Step  208 ). The new patron account  136  maintains the patron wagering account balance for the patron. The registration program  134  may also select and record a new electronic betting card number for the patron.  
      When the registration program  134  has successfully established the new patron account, the registration program  134  generally sends back a success indicator and the new electronic betting card number to the registration window  112 . In response, the employee (or an automated card dispenser) at the registration window  112  issues a new electronic betting card to the patron (Step  210 ). To that end, the employee may swipe the electronic betting card through a magnetic stripe reader/recorder to encode the patron data and the betting card number on the new electronic betting card.  
      Note that patrons may be issued a non-personalized card or apply for a personalized card. The non-personalized card may be obtained by submitting money to fund an account, without providing personal information such as name, phone number or credit card information. As a result, a new patron may quickly experience totalisator wagering, without spending time to fully register. Subsequently, when a personalized card application is approved, an electronic betting card is created and provided to the cardholder to replace the non-personalized card.  
      The patron may register with the wagering network  100  in other ways, however. For example, the patron may complete an application and present the application to a customer service person for processing. The customer service person may then require a signature capture or identification scan of customer credit cards or a check, as examples, to complete application. Alternatively, the patron may complete an application served by the wagering network intranet at onsite PC stations. The PC station may similarly obtain a signature capture or scan identification documents. As yet another alternative, the patron may complete an Internet application provided by the website server  144 . The wagering network  100  may then request an in-person follow up for signature capture or scanning of identification documents.  
      With regard next to  FIG. 3 , that Figure shows a process  300  that the registration program  134  and the accounting program  130  may employ to fund a patron account maintained in the wagering network  100 . An electronic card reader first reads the card number from the electronic betting card and the registration program  134  verifies an entered PIN number against the PIN verification database  124  (Step  302 ). For a face-to-face transaction (e.g., at the wagering window  110  or registration window  112 ), cash, check, or credit card payment is accepted from the patron (Step  304 ). The wagering network  100  then obtains a corresponding payment approval (Step  308 ). In response to an approved payment, the accounting program  130  adds the payment value to the locally maintained patron wagering account  136  (Step  310 ).  
      When the patron is interacting with an automated wagering terminal  108 , the patron may instead use the input device  146  to select a payment option and a payment amount (Step  312 ). When cash is selected, the patron inserts currency into an automated bill acceptor (for example). In response to currency validation, the accounting program  130  adds the payment value to the patron account  136  (Step  310 ).  
      On the other hand, when the patron uses a credit card or their checking account to add value to their patron account, the registration program  134  checks whether the credit card or the checking account is registered with the wagering system  100  (Step  314 ). To that end, the registration program  134  may compare the submitted credit card or checking account information against the patron data present in the patron account  136  or in the master account  142 . If the credit card or checking account is not registered, the registration program  134  may register the credit card information or checking account information as noted above with regard to  FIG. 2  (Step  316 ). Once the credit card or checking account payment is approved (Step  308 ), the accounting program  130  may then add value to the patron account  136  (Step  310 ).  
       FIG. 4  shows a process  400  for cashless totalisator wagering that the wagering network  100  may employ. The closed loop wagering network  100  reads patron identification indicia from a multiple mode electronic betting card (Step  402 ). The identification indicia may include an electronic betting card number, a patron name or other information. Next, the wagering network  100  accepts a patron authorization input (Step  404 ). For example, the wagering network  100  may accept a patron PIN input.  
      In response, the wagering network  100  authorizes use of the electronic betting card by verifying the patron authorization input (Step  406 ). Once authorized, the wagering network  100  may accept an event selection, for example a horse race selection, and a patron wager, for example, a $100.00 bet on a first place finish for a selected horse (Step  408 ).  
      In keeping with established totalisator wagering, the totalisator program  132  adds the patron wager amount into a wager pool for the wagering event (Step  410 ). In addition, the wagering network  100  stores patron wagering tracking information, for example in the master account  142 , or another database (Step  412 ). The patron wagering tracking information may include patron name, event selection, patron wager, a patron account identifier, and the patron electronic betting card number, as examples.  
      Note that the electronic betting card may be employed for many purposes in the wagering network  100 . In addition to placing a wager, the patron may also employ the betting card to purchase concessions or purchase entry into a track or gaming campus, as examples.  
      As additional wagers are received, the totalisator program  132  adds them to the wager pool for the appropriate event (Step  414 ). The totalisator program  132  may also update odds, payoff amounts, and other totalisator statistics. After the event has completed, the wagering network  100  receives an event result (Step  416 ). In response, the totalisator program  132  may calculate a patron payoff and communicate the patron payoff to the accounting program  130 . In response, the accounting program  130  may then credit the patron account  136  with the payoff amount.  
      Turning next to  FIG. 5 , that Figure shows an expanded view of the processing system  106 . More specifically, the processing system  106  includes support databases including a Business Rules Database  502 , a User/Clerk Account Database  504 , a Cardholder Account Database  504 , a Deleted Cardholder Account Database  506 , a Transaction History Database  508 , and a Transaction History Archive  510 . In addition, the processing system  106  includes a Card Personalization/Embossing Database  512 , a Reissue Embossing Database  514 , and a Dispute Database  516 . The processing system  106  may also include a Cardholder Account Audit Database  518 , a User/Clerk Account Maintenance Audit Database  520 , a Business Rules Audit Database  522 , and an ACH Transaction Database  524 . The following databases may also be present: a Signature Capture Database  526 , an Imaging Database  528 , and a Backup System Transaction Queue  530 .  
      The business rules database  502  may store a rule set that governs the operation of the wagering network  100 . As a default, all rules will be applied on installation of wagering network  100 , and employees with appropriate access can update the Business Rules to any of the system defined available options.  
      The user/clerk account database  504  stores employee information for employees of the wagering network  100 . The account database  504  thereby supports adding new users, updating existing user access, and deleting existing users.  
      The deleted cardholder account database  506  stores the records of patrons who have terminated their accounts. The transaction history database  508  stores records with transaction details relating to account debits, credits, deletions, and other administrative actions. The transaction history archives  510  stores records from the transaction history database  508  that are older than a pre-selected threshold.  
      The card personalization and embossing database  512  stores information on the electronic betting cards issued to patrons, including patron name, card number, and other card characteristics. A file transfer protocol (FTP) process may be employed to transfer records from the embossing database  512  to a vendor for card creation and mailing.  
      The reissue embossing database supports a monthly (or other time period) audit of card expiration dates that are 60 days out. The wagering system  100  thus processes the business rules against the cardholder account to see if it qualifies for reissue. If approved for reissue, the wagering system  100  updates the cardholder account expiration date with a new date and creates a reissue embossing record for the cardholder account.  
      The dispute database  516  logs and monitors cardholder claims. Thus, when a patron claims that the wagering system did not perform a transaction, an appropriate record is established in the dispute database  516 .  
      The cardholder account audit database  518  stores audit records arising from checks, verifications, and changes to selected patron accounts. The user/clerk account maintenance audit database  520  stores audit records arising from checks, verifications, and changes to selected employee accounts. The business rules audit data base  522  stores audit records arising from checks, verifications, and changes to the business rules database  502 .  
      The ACH transaction database  524  may be implemented for future capability expansion of the wagering network  100 . The ACH transaction database  524  stores ACH records relating to the transfer of money into the wagering system  100  to a cardholder account from a predefined bank account, and also relating to transfer of money out of the track to a predefined bank account from a cardholder account.  
      The signature capture database  526  stores records of graphical data that represent images of a patron signature or other verification data. The imaging database  528  stores records of graphical data that represents images of a patron, patron identification, or other patron indicia. The backup system transaction queue  530  stores backup transaction entries awaiting processing for backing up any of the data in the wagering network  100 .  
      Note also that the wagering network  100  supports additional functionality. Thus, as one example, the wagering network  100  includes lost/stolen card functionality. When a patron reports an electronic betting card lost or stolen, the wagering network  100  responsively updates an account status to ‘lost/stolen’, updates a remote totalisator system with the card status if necessary, opens a new account, and performs an account transfer from the old account to the new account. Risk management features may include business rules for reporting and managing risk, including the maximum number of deposits in one day, the maximum dollar amount in a single deposit, the maximum deposit met a pre-selected number of days in succession, and a maximum amount deposited, less than a pre-selected number of transactions, coupled with the betting card cashed to zero on the same day or within a pre-selected number of days.  
      The wagering network  100  may further provide a redundant cardholder account, including a “hot or live” backup system. In this regard, the wagering network  100  may update all patron transactions on both a primary and a backup system simultaneously. Then, if the primary system should fail, the wagering network  100  may automatically switch to the backup system for processing ‘add value’ and payment transactions. The transactions made on backup system may be queued in the transaction queue  530  for updating the primary system when restored.  
      A wagering system  100  backup and restore process may also execute. The process may perform a nightly backup of the wagering system  100  to a machine readable medium for offsite storage. The restore process may then restore the system from the last backup when necessary.  
      Processes executed nightly may include processing for card personalization and embossing, any pre-defined standard daily financial and statistical reporting, accounting and settlement, and ACH processing. Processes executed weekly may include processing and pre-defined standard weekly reporting, and transmit the week&#39;s accumulation of card personalization and embossing records to a vendor for electronic betting card creation and mailing. Processes executed monthly may include standard monthly reporting, inactive account processing and reporting, after a business rules defined number of days, move deleted cardholder accounts  136  off the patron database  122  to the deleted accounts database  506 , after a business rules defined number of years, permanently delete expired deleted accounts from deleted accounts database  506 , automatically reissue a betting card, based on its expiration date and creation of embossing file, and responsively transmit the embossing file to a vendor for creation and mailing.  
       FIG. 6  shows one example of a multiple mode electronic betting card  600  that may be used in the wagering network  100 . The card  600  includes mode  1  data encoding  602  and mode  2  data encoding  604 . The mode  1  data encoding  602  may be configured with data setup for the wagering network  100 . As examples, the mode  1  data encoding  602  may include a patron name  606 , a card number  608 , and a network ID tag  610  that identifies the mode  1  encoding  602  as data for the wagering network  100 .  
      The mode  2  encoding data  604  includes data specified by the third party financial network  104 . The mode  2  encoding data  604  may therefore include standard credit card or debit card information. As examples, the mode  2  encoding data  604  may include a cardholder name  612 , a card number  614 , and an expiration date  616 .  
      The encoding data  602  and  604  may be stored on a magnetic stripe on the card  600 . As another example, a non-volatile memory in the card  600  may store the encoding data  602  and  604 . Note that even though the encoding data  602  and  604  may have similar fields (e.g., the card number field), the fields need not have the same contents. Thus, for example, the card number for the purposes of the wagering network  100  may be different than the card number for purposes of the third party financial network  104 .  
      The totalisator wagering network  100  described above implements cashless wagering. As a result, the wagering network  100  frees the patron from the time consuming and error prone administrative drudgery associated with keep track of totalisator tickets and other wagering indicia. The wagering network  100  has reduced operational overhead and does not suffer from the drawbacks of issuing, redeeming, and tracking tickets. For that reason, patrons need not expend resources to ensure that a ticket does not get lost or destroyed, or expend resources to redeem a winning ticket either personally or by mail. Patrons may instead enjoy and concentrate on the wagering events, with the knowledge that the wagering system  100  properly maintains their accounts without their intervention.  
      Through the use of the dual mode electronic betting card, the wagering system  100  provides gaming operators with a secure tool for wagering remittance. The operators and patrons are no longer limited by the issuance and submission of physical tickets and paper receipts, or mail submission of winning tickets. In addition, the wagering system safely maintains patron winnings in a PIN protected account, thereby eliminating the need for the patron to carry large sums of cash. The dual mode betting card also allows the patron to participate in self service wagering, thereby eliminating lengthy lines at betting establishments and providing an efficient mechanism that allows patrons to submit their wagers to the wagering establishment before an event starts. As a result, gaming operators may also benefit from reduced overhead, for example in the form of reduced staffing requirements.  
      It is therefore intended that the foregoing detailed description be regarded as illustrative rather than limiting, and that it be understood that it is the following claims, including all equivalents, that are intended to define the spirit and scope of this invention.