A Dave & Buster's location in the Gateway Center shopping complex in the Brooklyn borough of New York, U.S., on Saturday, March 30, 2024.
Bing Guan | Bloomberg | fake images
game chain Dave and Buster The plan to allow customer betting is not convincing everyone.
Software company Lucra Sports announced Tuesday that it was working with the entertainment chain to allow customers to place bets on its arcade games through the Dave & Buster app.
But some lawmakers consider it a mistake.
Illinois state Rep. Daniel Didech, a Democrat from Buffalo Grove, introduced a bill Thursday designed to prohibit family entertainment establishments from facilitating betting on entertainment games. He also seeks to criminalize the activity by amending the Illinois Penal Code. His bill has bipartisan support and is backed by more than two dozen state legislators.
“It is not appropriate for family gambling halls to facilitate unregulated gambling on their premises. These businesses simply do not have the capacity to oversee gambling activity in a safe and responsible manner,” Didech said in a statement.
Didech, who also serves as chairman of the Illinois House Gaming Committee, said he will advance legislation this session to clarify that such conduct is illegal under Illinois law.
Didech told CNBC he sees many problems with the idea, ranging from a lack of protection for problem gamblers to exposing younger people to gambling. He said that while Illinois requires people to be 21 or older to play, Lucra's service is for people 18 and older.
“None of those protections exist at Dave & Buster's locations. They haven't even done their due diligence,” Didech said.
Customers play an arcade car racing game at a Dave & Buster's Entertainment location.
Timothy Fadek | Bloomberg | fake images
Ohio's gaming control board has taken notice, too.
“The Commission has serious concerns about the proposal, including the fact that it appears to violate Ohio law regarding the facilitation of illegal prizes for skill-based arcade machines,” a spokesperson for the Ohio Casino Control Commission told CNBC. Ohio. “We are reaching out to Dave & Buster's for additional information.”
Both Lucra Sports, the company that will power betting on the Dave & Buster's app, and Dave & Buster's declined to comment on the opposition.
As sports betting has skyrocketed since it was legalized in much of the country, companies are looking to cash in on the gambling craze. The idea of Dave & Buster's is to offer customers a new form of entertainment and keep them interested longer and ultimately spend more money.
Lucra said most bets on its software platform, which allows users to compete for real money in friendly competitions, have an average size of about $10. But the company has not yet decided on the maximum bet amount for Dave & Buster's.
Lucra said the deal with Dave & Buster's is not subject to the same gaming regulations or taxes as sportsbooks because peer-to-peer betting is considered skill-based. Lucra also said it has extensive responsible gaming policies, such as self-exclusion or self-limitation options on the platform.
Brett Abarbanel, executive director of the International Gaming Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said she is interested to see what safeguards, if any, Dave & Buster's will implement.
“Regardless of the legal classification of the activity as 'non-gambling' versus 'gambling,' this is an activity in which participants risk something of value with an outcome that is uncertain. Therefore, there should be measures of consumer protection for gamers, particularly when the target audience is skewed toward younger participants,” he said.
Correction: This article was updated to reflect the correct day Illinois State Rep. Daniel Didech's bill was introduced.
