Dave & Buster's To Allow Customers To Bet On Arcade Games

Arcade giant Dave & Buster's said it will begin allowing customers to bet on arcade games. 'Customers can soon make a friendly $5 wager on a Hot Shots basketball game, a bet on a Skee-Ball competition or on another arcade game,' reports CNBC. 'The betting function, expected to launch in the next few months, will work through the company's app.' From the report: Dave & Buster's, started in 1982, now has more than 222 venues in North America, offering everything from bowling to laser tag, plus virtual reality. The company says it has five million loyalty members and 30 million unique visitors to its locations each year. The company's stock is up more than 50% over the past year. As a boom in betting increases engagement among sports fans, digital gamification could have a similar effect within Dave & Buster's customer base by allowing loyalty members to compete with one another and earn rewards. Ultimately, it could mean people spend more time and money at the venues.

Dave and Buster's is using technology by gamification software company Lucra. Lucra and Dave & Buster's said there will be a limit placed on the size of bets it will allow, but that they're not publicly disclosing that threshold just yet. Lucra said across its history the average bet size has been $10. 'We're creating a new form of kind of a digital experience for folks inside of these ecosystems,' said Madding, Lucra's chief operating officer. 'We're getting them to engage in a new way and spend more time and money,' he added. Lucra says its skills-based games are not subject to the same licenses and regulations gambling operators face with games of chance. Lucra is careful not to use the term 'bet' or 'wager' to describe its games. 'We use real-money contests or challenges,' Madding said. Lucra's contests are only available to players age 18 and older. The contests are available in 44 states.

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