Patent ID: 8771094

Claim:
A method comprising: performing the following in a network device having a communication interface configured to communicate with a mobile device associated with one of a plurality of bowling lanes on which a bowling game is played: receiving a bowling game scoring command originating from the mobile device, the bowling game scoring command being received to command an automatic scoring system to enter bowling game scoring information to score the bowling game played on the bowling lane that is associated with the mobile device; determining which one of the plurality of bowling lanes is associated with the mobile device; and sending a response including data indicative of the bowling lane that is associated with the mobile device and the bowling game scoring command originating from the mobile device to the automatic scoring system to score the bowling game played on the bowling lane that is associated with the mobile device, wherein the automatic scoring system enters the bowling game scoring information to score the bowling game played on the bowling lane that is associated with the mobile device and not on the other bowling lanes, wherein determining which one of the plurality bowling lanes is associated with the mobile device comprises: receiving bowler authorization information; querying a database with the bowler authorization information, wherein the database associates the bowler authorization information with a lane identification value; and receiving the lane identification value based on querying the database.