Dave & Buster’s Developing In-App Arcade Betting for Skee-Ball, Hot Shots Hoops

Restaurant and arcade giant Dave Buster s plans to soon integrate real-money betting into its mobile application for the company s rewards members.

In a release issued this week, Dave Buster s officials revealed that the company is working with Lucra, a gamification software developer with a mission to connect, energize, and inspire communities through the power of friendly competition.

Lucra is assisting Dave Buster s in modifying its D B Rewards app to allow players to make friendly wagers while playing some of the arcade games.

We re thrilled to work with Lucra to bring this exciting new gaming platform to our customers, said Simon Murray, senior vice president of entertainment and attractions at Dave Buster s. This new partnership gives our loyalty members real-time, unrivaled gaming experiences, and reinforces our commitment to continuing to elevate our customer experience through innovative, cutting-edge technology.

Dave Buster s has 222 venues in North America that offer food and drinks paired with classic and modern . Publicly traded on the Nasdaq, shares of Dave Buster s (NASDAQ: PLAY) are up over 50% from a year ago.

Dave Buster s embracing betting comes as gambling continues to grow in the United States. Sports betting is legal in nearly 40 states, and casinos are operational in all than a handful of outliers.

Most Americans today reside in a state where they can legally bet on basketball and other sports, so why not on arcade games? That s the thinking at D B s corporate offices.

Once peer-to-peer betting is engaged, the Dave Buster s rewards app will allow friends to challenge one another on several popular games where high scores are the name of the game. The company plans to roll out betting beginning with a small allotment of games including skee-ball, Hot Shots basketball, and Dance Dance Revolution.

The app will limit the friendly wagers to around $10 per bet. Lucra reps say the betting integration will increase engagement and retention for Dave Buster s properties.

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.

The friendly wagering component is a form of and won t require Dave Buster s to acquire gaming licenses from state regulatory agencies. Lucra refers to its services as real-money contests and challenges to differentiate the wagering activity.

Anyone using the D B Rewards app will be able to participate in the social betting option while inside a Dave Buster s.

One of the newest Dave Buster s locations to open is in one of the country s largest gaming markets, Atlantic City. The Dave Buster s took the place of Jay-Z s former 40/40 nightclub.

The 21,000-square-foot restaurant and is just a block inland from Caesars and the Boardwalk. The Dave Buster s facility opened on Dec. 14, 2023.