Dave & Buster’s bets on wager app as online gambling winner

Arcade-style games have always aroused healthy competition among friends. 

But one major entertainment company is ready to amp up those rivalries by letting customers place wagers on everything from Skee-Ball to pop-a-shot basketball — the latest proliferation in online gambling.

Dave & Buster’s, with 164 locations in 42 states, including Long Island establishments in Massapequa, Islandia and Westbury, is partnering with Lucra, a gamification software company, to allow customers to place bets against other players in a “fully immersive experience,” company officials said in a news release.

That means when your friend bets you $5 that you can’t hit that shot, he’ll actually have to pay up.

“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,” said Simon Murray, senior vice president of entertainment and attractions at Dave and Buster’s in a news release.

Messages left at Long Island Dave & Buster’s locations were not immediately returned Tuesday.

The betting feature, which Lucra said in the news release is set to launch in the coming months, will utilize the Dave & Buster’s app and allow adults 18 and older to place real-time bets on arcade games.

Company officials said there would be a limit on how much customers could wager against one another but that figure has yet to be publicly disclosed.

A Lucra spokesman said customers would be able to wager on “skills-based games” but declined to stipulate which ones would be offered.

In the news release, Lucra officials said its new gaming strategy would help “destigmatize cash-based competition by evolving it into a fun, friendly, and social experience.”

But Long Island gambling experts fear that arcade-style wagering could attract a younger population more prone to developing gambling addiction.

“One of our most vulnerable populations for developing a gambling problem is young people ages 18 to 24,” said Pamela Brenner-Davis, team leader for the Uniondale-based Long Island Problem Gambling Resource Center, which is funded by the state Office of Addiction Services and Support. 

“The addition of other gambling opportunities through smart devices or mobile devices adds to the opportunity to do it in secret,” Brenner-Davis said. “And for people to develop problems where nobody else is aware that the problem is occurring.”

App-based betting exploded in popularity in New York in 2022 when the state legalized online sports gambling, allowing adults 21 and older to make wagers on their phone on practically any sports or game.

More than $19 billion was wagered on sports across the state in 2023, generating more than $1 billion in revenue for education, youth sports and gambling prevention, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced in January.

But unlike sports betting, the Dave & Buster’s initiative allows the gamblers themselves — as opposed to the success or failure of stars such as Aaron Judge or LeBron James — to determine wins and losses.

Brenner-Davis said the size of the bet or the method of wagering is beside the point.

“There are penny slots that cause people to develop gambling addictions, and scratch-off lottery tickets that only cost $1,” she said. “It’s not so much about the money. It’s about the idea that the activity can’t be fun without wagering on it somehow.”