A method and apparatus for permitting communications with a gaming device is disclosed. In one embodiment of the invention, the invention is a network (20) including a host (24) which is associated with one or more network/systems, and a communication interface associated with each gaming device (22) on the network. An optical communication link (28) is provided between the host (24) and the gaming devices (22). The host (24) and each communication interface are arranged to bi-directionally transmit and receive data over the optical communication link.