A gaming system including wager-based electronic gaming machines compatible with mobile devices, such as smart phones or tablet computers, is described. The electronic gaming machines can be configured to establish temporary communication connections with mobile devices. After a communication connection is established with a mobile device, the EGM can be configured to utilize the network access capabilities of the mobile device to access a wide area network, such as the Internet. In one embodiment, the EGM can be configured to push data, such as fault condition data, to a remote device via the wide area network connection. In another embodiment, owners of the mobile devices, which can be a player playing the EGM, can receive incentives for allowing the EGM to utilize its network access capabilities.