Safe gaming, personal selection of self-limiting option

#This invention pertains to gaming, and more particularly to preventing players from abusing gaming.

#Casino gaming has long been a very successful business. Despite having full knowledge that they have little chance of winning, the allure of the winning a lot of money draws millions of players a year. Whether they play blackjack, any of several varieties of poker, roulette, or slot machines, players dream of beating the house against the odds, and walking away with a big payoff.

#In an effort to keep people coming back despite losing money, casinos have implemented a number of changes in recent years. Gone are the days when casinos were dimly lit rooms filled with dense smoke. Today, casinos are air conditioned, well ventilated, and brightly lit. New methods of increasing payouts, such as progressive jackpots, entice players to groups of machines, rather than individual, specific machines. And recognizing that players travel with their families, casinos provide entertainment to non-players, such as children, as well.

#FIG. 1 shows a schematic of several slot machines in a casino.

#FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a slot machine with an attached self-limiting selection device.

#FIG. 3 shows a kiosk for self-limiting of gaming using, for example, the slot machine of FIG. 2.

#FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a slot machine with an attached self-limiting selection device. In FIG. 2, slot machine 202 includes an attached self-limit selector 205. Self-limit selector 205 is shown as including buttons 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260, 270, 276, 278 and 280 for selecting adjacent triggers 215, 225, 235, 245, 255, 265, 275, 277, 279, and 285. (Trigger 279 is shown as blank, but could be used for another trigger not listed here.) For example, if the player wants to self-limit based on play time (trigger 215), the player can press button 210, if the player wants to self-limit based on total buy-in (trigger 225), the player can press button 220, and so on.

#Also included in self-limit selector 205 is a cancel self-limit trigger (trigger 285). This trigger can be used when the player has a previously established self-limit which he wishes to remove. By canceling the self-limit, the player can play without worrying about how much or how long he plays. However, in an alternative embodiment, the cancel self-limit trigger (trigger 285) is not presented, to avoid players who need a self-limit being able to stop self-limiting early. In the alternative embodiment, players can only cancel a self-limit via an attendant.

#There are several different ways players can self-limit. Each of these techniques is now explained briefly. First, a player can select to self-limit based on time (trigger 215): for example, the player can indicate that he wants to be stopped after playing for two hours. A player can select to self-limit based on his total buy-in in a fixed amount of time (trigger 225): for example, the player can indicate that he wants the game to stop if he inserts $200 into the game. (Buy-in is defined as the amount of money the player inserts into the game out of his pocket, without regard to any winnings or actual play.) The player can select to self-limit based on coin-in in a fixed amount of time (trigger 235): for example, the player can indicate that he wants the game to stop if he “drops” $100 into the game. (Coin-in is defined as the amount of money actually spent playing the game.) Note that the terms “coinin” and “drops” suggest that actual coins are used. But a person skilled in the art will recognize that bills can be “dropped” into the machine, and count as “coin” for purposes of calculating the “coin-in” for the machine.