Patent ID: 8480487

Claim:
A method for verifying the continued presence of a player at a device during a gaming session, said device including apparatus for acquiring a biometric data sample of the player, the method comprising: configuring a processor for (a) receiving a first verification biometric data sample wherein a verification data sample relates to one or more physical features of a first player for the device, (b) designating said first verification data sample as a reference template and (c) receiving a second verification data sample at a time period after said reference template was obtained and during said gaming session; and enabling said processor for (a) comparing the second verification data sample to the reference template to ascertain, regardless of the identification of the first player, and if said second verification data sample is substantially similar to the reference template (b) resolving that the first player remains present at the gaming machine during the gaming session and if the second verification data sample is not substantially similar to the reference template (c) resolving that the first player is no longer present and suspending the gaming session for said first player.