Dave & Buster’s is letting customers bet on arcade games

Restaurant and arcade chain Dave & Buster’s will soon allow its customers to make wagers on its popular games.

Patrons will soon be able to place a $5 wager via Dave & Buster’s mobile app on the chain’s Hot Shots basketball game and Skee-Ball competition, among other arcade games.

The betting function is expected to launch on the app — called “D&B Rewards” on the Apple and Android app stores — within the next few months, and will use technology by gamification software company Lucra, according to CNBC.

“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,“ Simon Murray, the senior vice president of entertainment and attractions at Dave & Buster’s, said in a press release Tuesday.

The number of loyalty members that have made an account on the rewards app — which offers bonus game chips, free food and drink offerings plus other discounts — is already upwards of 5 million, CNBC reported.

Aside from encouraging further app downloads, Dave & Buster’s said that its forthcoming betting initiative “will help to destigmatize cash-based competition by evolving it into a fun, friendly and social experience.”

Dave & Buster’s welcomes 30 million unique visitors to its 220 restaurants across the US and Canada annually.

Lucra, meanwhile, has more than 50,000 active players on its 150-plus peer-to-peer recreational wagering platform.

However, Lucra is careful not to use the terms “bet” or “wager” to describe its skills-based games, as they’re not subject to the same licenses and regulations gambling operators face with games of chance, CNBC reported.

Rather, Lucra calls its 44 betting games “real-money contests or challenges,” which are available to adults 18 years and older.

The platform was first created in 2019 by then-Stanford Graduate School of Business classmates Dylan Robbins and Michael Madding, who previously worked together at Goldman Sachs, according to CNBC.

Before landing the partnership deal with Dave & Buster’s, Lucra had already raised roughly $14 million from investors that included billionaire private equity manager Marc Lasry as well as investment firm Raptor Group and venture capital company SeventySix Capital.

Former Super Bowl champion Zach Ertz and his wife, pro-soccer star Julie Ertz, are also investors in Lucra, per CNBC.

The terms of Lucra’s deal with Dave & Buster’s was not immediately clear.

“Lucra helps our partners drive user adoption, increase retention and engagement and add new monetization streams to their business,” Robbins, Lucra’s CEO, told CNBC.

“We’re getting them to engage in a new way and spend more time and money,” added Madding, Lucra’s chief operating officer.