Dave & Buster’s Introduces Social Wagering through Mobile App, Powered by Lucra

Arcade giant Dave & Buster’s is taking its gaming experiences to a new level by introducing social wagering through their mobile app. From Hot Shots basketball games, Skee-Ball competitions or other arcade games, customers will soon be able to place friendly $5 bets on the outcomes via the company’s platform in the next few months. This functionality is being enabled with technology from gamification software firm Lucra.
Dave & Buster’s started operations over 40 years ago and now has more than 222 locations across North America, offering a range of entertainment options including bowling, laser tag, virtual reality experiences along with hundreds of games spread over its premises. With approximately five million loyalty members, Dave & Buster’s says it sees around thirty million unique visitors at its sites each year.
As the sports betting industry continues to grow rapidly and boost engagement among fans, digital gamification is now set for a similar impact on the arcade operator’s customer base by enabling loyalists to compete against one another while earning rewards in real-time through Lucra’s unmatched gaming platform experience that ultimately can mean extended game sessions accompanied by enhanced expenditures.
Lucra CEO Dylan Robbins expressed his delight at partnering with Dave & Buster’s, adding the company was excited about introducing an innovative and cutting edge technology to its customers while reinforcing their commitment towards enhancing customer experiences through advanced technological solutions. This deal enables users real-time, peerless gaming enjoyment while significantly upgrading retention levels alongside providing fresh revenue streams for partners in this niche industry segment.
Lucra is a software platform that allows players to compete against each other on friendly wagers or contests with real money at stake. The company was founded by Robbins and Michael Madding, both of whom were Stanford Graduate School of Business classmates who previously worked together as investment bankers at Goldman Sachs before establishing Lucra in 2019.
Lucra has raised approximately $14 million from investors that include Billionaire Investor Marc Lasry’s family office Ave Maria Capital; the sports industry’s former and current professional athletes John Isner, Julie Ertz (wife of NFL star Zach Ertz) along with Raptor Group and SeventySix Capital.
Lucra claims that its skills-based games are not subject to licensing or regulatory restrictions usually applicable in the case of casino-style betting as these fall into a separate category under ‘digital experiences for users’ – ‘Real Money Contests’ or Challenges, according to Madding who is also Lucra’s Chief Operating Officer.
Lucra says that its games are not categorized as bets or wagers and instead refers to them as real-money contests/challenges; these restrictions have enabled the company to sidestep conventional regulatory frameworks governing casino gaming operations, allowing it greater flexibility in terms of product development while minimizing compliance costs.
The social betting category is estimated at $6 billion by industry experts Eilers & Krejcik – companies like Fliff and ReBet are attempting to replicate the successes seen within traditional gambling circles with a younger demographic. Lucra has recently announced partnerships with Dupr, an organization that provides pickleball ratings systems as well as TennisOne (a tennis app) allowing players of these games to compete against each other for real money prizes on its platform – the company’s mobile application is currently available in 44 states and has been downloaded more than 150,00 times with over one million unique contests conducted via this software tool while handling close to $20 million of stakes through these competitions.
“Whether you’re playing pickleball with your friends or enjoying a game of golf on the weekend – we help amplify that and digitalize that experience in collaboration with our partners,” added Robbins during recent media interactions.