On a network of electronic gaming machines, data regarding the performance of the machines or the players of the machines is collected and processed to make predictions of future jackpots and recommendations of games to play. The predictions and recommendations are delivered via at least one virtual persona that communicates with players or potential players via displays in a casino or on a web browser, via smartphone. Players can conduct conversations with the persona using cellular telephone, text messaging, or other types of Internet communications.

Some examples may include a poker indexing service. For example, a multi dimensional vector of player performance and/or other data may be determined based on gaming related activity that is input or otherwise captured. Such a vector may be used in various forms to generate a metric or to facilitate wagering and/or other gaming activity. Other methods and apparatus are described.

Exemplary embodiments are disclosed of systems and methods for monitoring for and lowering the risk of addiction-related or restriction violation-related behavior(s).

Methods, systems, processes and others are provided for digital administration of gaming units including, for example, receiving a real-time request for gaming units; determining that the gaming unit administration application executing on the mobile device is located at the particular gaming location of the gaming establishment; determining that the real-time request for gaming units does not exceed the gaming unit limit of the account pre-approved by the gaming establishment; identifying a gamer distribution module associated with the particular gaming location for the current gaming activity associated with the request; and providing an authorization to distribute to the gamer associated with the request one or more requested gaming units.

A system, apparatus, and method for electronically transferring value using a portable electronic device. In one embodiment, a method for transferring funds to or from play a portable electronic device to facilitate playing a game of chance on a portable electronic device.

A gaming system for enabling the simultaneous play of real-money, wager-based gaming and free, play-for-fun gaming is described. The gaming system is configured to deliver a fun game to a client in conjunction with a real-money gaming event and to initiate play of a fun game upon a predesignated triggering event of the real money game. The fun game is played by a plurality of players and fun game controller directs game information to a fun game server. Fun game information can be displayed for multiple players to drive competitive-type play among players and can be used to provide awards and incentivize play.

The present disclosure relates generally to gaming systems, computational devices, and methods. An illustrative method includes receiving a code request message from a computational device, where the code request message includes information describing a code requestor and a code parameter defined by the code requestor. The method may further include determining that the requestor is permitted to receive the shareable code with the code parameter defined by the code requestor, generating the shareable code, storing an electronic record indicating that the shareable code has been generated, where the electronic record includes an identifier of the shareable code and an identifier of the code requestor, and transmitting a code delivery message to the computational device, where the code delivery message includes the shareable code.

Leaderboard promotions in gaming systems which provide one or more players one or more benefits in association with maintaining one or more designated positions on a leaderboard for a designated duration.

By one or more processors of a computing device, receive a player game election of a player, the player game election comprising a skill based video game and one or more player characteristics of the player, determine a first player eligibility of the player to participate in the skill based video game comprising verify the one or more player characteristics, send the first player eligibility to an operator of the skill based video game, receive a list of one or more players that fulfilled a win condition for the skill based video game, determine a second player eligibility to receive a payout based on the list of one or more players that fulfilled the win condition, the first player eligibility, and a player preference for a payout type, and distribute the payout to the one or more players that fulfill the win condition.

A portal device for a video game includes a pad with different zones that can be illuminated by selectable colors, a toy sensor (e.g., an RFID tag sensor) associated with each zone, a controller and a communications port for communicating with a video game process executing on a game machine. The colors of each zone can be configured to one or a combination of three primary colors during game play, based on the game process. The portal device reacts to placement of tagged toys on zones and the color of the zones during play and provides sensor data to the game process. The game process controls the game state in part based on data from the portal device and in part on other user input.