Dave & Buster’s, the popular restaurant and arcade chain in the United States, announced its plans to grow its offering with the introduction of a new betting feature available via its mobile app. The feature enables users to place wagers on two of the company’s games, Hot Shots basketball and Skee-Ball.
The move signaled Dave & Buster’s intention to benefit from the lucrative gambling market in the country that has been growing rapidly recently. In fact, the restaurant chain may be after capitalizing on new opportunities related to betting in particular, which has seen exponential growth over the last five years.
However, the company’s intentions quickly captured the attention of regulators, lawmakers and gambling industry stakeholders, who immediately voiced their concerns. Dave & Buster’s intentions were under scrutiny in Nevada in particular, the home of Las Vegas, known as the gambling capital of the world.
The state’s gambling regulator, the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB), looked into Dave & Buster’s intentions to offer wagering, effectively telling the company that it cannot provide such wagers, as announced by the Nevada Independent. The gambling watchdog was against the company’s idea to offer betting for adults 18 or older for two of its games. Consequently, NGCB’s chairman, Kirk Hendrick, spoke with Dave & Buster’s management, informing them about the regulator’s tough stance against “unlicensed gaming.”
Currently, Dave & Buster’s has established operations in both Henderson and Summerlin. Hendrick explained that the NGCB strictly “opposes activities that could promote underage gambling, as well as wagering activities by businesses catering to a significant number of minor clientele.”
Pushback Builds up in a Few Other States
Shortly after announcing its betting intentions, Dave & Buster’s faced backlash in other states as well. Earlier this month, CNBC reported that a bipartisan bill proposing a ban for family entertainment venues from offering gambling activities was filed in Illinois.
The effort is led by Illinois State Rep. Daniel Didech. He warned that family-friendly businesses are unable to enforce appropriate safeguards for the protection of problem gamblers. Moreover, Didech warned that the offering of betting or gambling options by such businesses increases the risk of the exposure of young adults to such activities.
Besides Nevada and Illinois, Dave & Buster’s intention faces pushback in Ohio as well. According to the state gambling regulator, the Ohio Gaming Control Board, such an offering may be in violation of the existing laws.
