After online sports betting, social betting

Dave and Buster’s, an American chain of bars with arcade games, will let its customers bet among themselves.

Dave and Buster’s is an arcade giant. A very noisy place with a whole series of games, motorcycles, racing cars, virtual fishing, basketball hoops, modern versions of upside down, a Ferris wheel like in the show “Le Juste Prix” etc. Children love it because each game earns points with which they can then collect prizes, balloons, figurines, candies, in the establishment’s shop. Some parents also really like it. There is usually a sports bar with dozens of screens, next to the games.

30 million people visit one of the approximately 200 Dave and Buster’s in North America each year and the chain has partnered with Lucra Sports, which specializes in gaming software, to create an option on its app that allows betting with friends, not on an NBA match, but on games with friends, among all the games available on site. You will have to be over 18 to be eligible to play in a few months, when the application will be available.

No percentage but customer loyalty

For example, in Dave and Buster’s, there are basketball hoops. You have 60 seconds to score as many baskets as possible. On the platform, you will be able to bet 5 dollars that your friend will put fewer than 10 balls in the basket. Of course, there is no need for an app for this, betting with friends has been around for a long time. But it is through the platform, you earn points and rewards. In addition, a digital platform, with the presentation that accompanies it, “professionalizes” the experience a little. Normally, Dave and Buster’s does not take a percentage on these bets but this is an opportunity to further retain the 5 million users of its application and even add more. Customers who will spend more time there and will undoubtedly spend more.

The question has also been raised as to whether, with this type of betting, players do not risk developing a form of addiction. Technically, it is not online sports betting so the legislation is less strict. In addition, these are games of skill most often, so it is not roulette at the casino. There will be a limit on the amounts bet, although we do not know where this limit is at the moment. This type of social bet, as the Americans call it, would already represent a $6 billion industry. According to CNBC, this is an opportunity to reach a younger audience on average than online sports betting.