The title is eye-catching and thought-provoking. "Dave and Buster's to allow betting on games" Does this not contradict everything the industry has fought against; making sure our games are 100% skill and not "gambling devices for kids"? Do we not take great pains ensuring our games are fully compliant with city and state regulations and comply to what they consider games of chance vs. games of skill? By allowing betting, as the title says, is D&B bringing undo attention to an industry that fights daily to make sure cities/state's allow us to entertain their children?
OR...
Is D&B opening a market that has gone untouched because of the "fear" this will bring scrutiny where it does not belong? Has D&B simply found a legal way to make their venues more exciting by allowing friends and family to start "contests" against each other that, yes, may be construed as a "bet" to some.
Initial reaction...what in the world are they thinking? This is NOT going to be good for the industry. Every outlet that has always accused us of turning our guests into gamblers is going to jump on this RIGHT AWAY and all those long, hard fights will have to start again. According to CNBC, Daniel Didech, Illinios State Representative, has already filed a bill to "prohibit family amusement establishments from facilitating wagering on amusement games. He is also looking to criminalize the activity by amending the Illinois Criminal Code".
BUT...taking a step back, is this REALLY a backend way to gamble or is this exploiting something that goes on all the time and D&B is making it, well, legitimate?
Let's go back, what, 5 years, when sports betting was illegal, horrible, whoever does it must do so in a dark back alley...and then today, you cannot watch a sports show/game without having at least one, usually multiple. advertisements for a sports betting site. This is not to say our small town FECs will, or should, incorporate this, but is it so far-fetched to think, just maybe, this is the future of adult geared FECs?
We looked into the technology behind D&B's new "betting" system, and the company (Lucra Sports) is based solely on "games you play" contests. As Lucra explains, Games you Play are "bona fide contests of skill in which the outcome of the activity is 1) entirely or primarily dependent upon the knowledge, ability, strength, speed or endurance of the participants, intelligence; and 2) subject to the control of the participants".
Lucra offers two solutions: One at a recreational level (5 bucks I beat you in Skeeball), the other at a professional level (I "bet" you Harper hits more homeruns then Acuna Jr.).
Here's the problem we see...Games you play makes sense in option 1, recreational play. I "bet" you I can beat you in Skeeball, no problem there. Option 2, I bet you Harper hits more homeruns than Acuna Jr., this is very grey. Are you making a "contest" between two players skills, yes, but do you have any outcome if they are successful in this contest, no. This would be the pure definitely of "there is a chance" Harper hits more homeruns then Acuna Jr. So another question comes up, will the professional side of the app. be banned at D&B and they will only have the ability to use the recreational part...e.g. I will score more points than you playing Skeeball.
Full definition of Games you Play from Lucra's FAQ's"
Why is “Games You Play” a skill-based game?
The “Games You Play” contests on Lucra are bona fide contests of skill in which the outcome of the activity is 1) entirely or primarily dependent upon the knowledge, ability, strength, speed or endurance of the participants, intelligence; and 2) subject to the control of the participants.All “Games You Play” contests on Lucra are: (a) based on the physical or mental play of the actual participants in the contests; (b) limited geographically to certain jurisdictions; and (c) subject to geolocation and age controls (i.e. 18+).
In the end, we are not going to know the effect this will have on our industry for some time. What we do know is, this story isn't over.
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