Player Tracking System for Casino Enrollment via Self-Service

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Solution Overview

Problem

Traditional methods for enticing players to join casino loyalty programs are inefficient due to staff shortages, time delays, privacy concerns, and superstition, leading to incomplete participation in player tracking systems.

Innovation Solution

A player tracking system that incentivizes registration through offering credits and bonuses by tracking uncarded players based on win/loss ratios, play frequency, and game types, allowing targeted marketing and enrollment through electronic gaming devices with integrated player tracking components and messaging systems.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If casino staff approach players to offer loyalty program registration, then player enrollment may increase, but staff time and operational complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenumber of enrolled playersVSAvoidstaff time required

Core Design Contradiction:

Quantity of substanceVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables players to automatically enroll in the loyalty program by inserting their player tracking card at the gaming device. The device detects the card, retrieves player information, and processes enrollment without requiring staff intervention, thus increasing enrollment while minimizing staff time expenditure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-configuring enrollment incentives and messaging templates before player arrival. When a player inserts their card, the system has already prepared personalized messages and bonus offers, eliminating the need for staff to manually create these during the interaction.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Adaptability or versatility

If casino hosts manually monitor and estimate player value, then targeted marketing can be attempted, but measurement reliability decreases due to subjective criteria

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetargeted marketing capabilityVSAvoidplayer value estimation accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system replaces the manual mechanical process of host observation and estimation with an automated electronic system. The gaming device automatically tracks plays, calculates wagering amounts, and determines player value metrics through software algorithms, providing objective and precise measurements rather than subjective human estimation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements continuous feedback by monitoring player activity in real-time through the player tracking card and gaming device integration. This allows the system to dynamically adjust marketing offers and bonus structures based on actual play data, improving the precision of player value assessment and targeted marketing effectiveness.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Adaptability or versatility

If player tracking system requires identification registration, then player-specific marketing can be implemented, but player privacy concerns increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveplayer-specific marketing capabilityVSAvoidprivacy concerns

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The player tracking card serves as an intermediary that bridges the need for player identification and privacy protection. The card stores encrypted player information and acts as a secure medium for transmitting data between the gaming device and the marketing system, allowing personalized marketing while maintaining player privacy through secure data handling.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS7867081B2System for join-up incentive messaging and bonusing

Publication Date: 2011.01.11 INTERNATIONAL GAME TECHNOLOGY INC

AI summary

Uncarded play can be monitored by a gaming device or network to target incentives aimed at achieving player tracking system enrollment. A player is permitted to begin gaming device play. The player's play is monitored for triggering events suggesting a player's value to the casino and prompting notification of join-up incentives to the player. The player can be solicited to enroll and can be awarded join-up incentives following enrollment.