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      Dave & Buster’s is adding real money betting options to arcade staples

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · 5 days ago - 20:30 · 1 minute

    It's a good thing this kid is too young to bet on Skee-Ball, because his dad is getting <em>beat</em>.

    Enlarge / It's a good thing this kid is too young to bet on Skee-Ball, because his dad is getting beat . (credit: Getty Images)

    Anyone who's been to a Dave & Buster's location in recent years knows the arcade's heavy reliance on so-called redemption games makes the experience more like an ersatz casino than the quarter-munching video game halls of the '70s and '80s . On the vast majority of D&B games, you end up wagering money (in the form of gameplay chips) to win virtual tickets that can be traded for trinkets at the rewards counter.

    Now, the massive arcade chain has announced that players will soon be able to use the D&B app to directly wager on the results of arcade games through "real-money contests." The arcade giant, which has over 200 locations across North America, is partnering with "gamification layer" platform Lucra on a system that will let D&B Rewards members "digitally compete with each other, earn rewards, and unlock exclusive perks while competing with friends at Dave & Buster’s," according to Tuesday's announcement .

    Neither Lucra nor Dave & Buster's has responded to a request for comment from Ars Technica, so we're still missing extremely basic information, like what games will support app-based wagering, minimum and maximum bet sizes, or what kinds of fees might be involved. CNBC's report on the announcement suggests the system will be launching "in the next few months" to players 18 and older across 44 states (and specifically mention Skee-Ball and Hot Shots Basketball competitions). Lucra's webpage simply says the integration will "provide... social connectivity and friendly competition," suggesting you'll probably face off against friends playing in the same location.

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      Flutter shareholders vote to move listing from London to New York

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · 5 days ago - 12:18


    Paddy Power owner will make switch to its ‘natural home’ by May in further blow to London Stock Exchange

    London’s stock exchange is to lose another high-profile company after shareholders in the Paddy Power owner Flutter backed a proposal to move its primary listing to New York.

    Investors at its annual meeting on Wednesday voted 98% in favour of the gambling company, formerly known as Paddy Power Betfair, making the switch, which it expected to become effective by the end of May.

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      Social media and gambling have made death threats routine for college athletes

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Wednesday, 10 April - 10:00

    I was heckled during my time as a college player in the late 1990s. But young athletes today must endure an ocean of bile from all areas of the internet

    Throughout this year’s men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments, athletes have reported receiving death threats on social media. After LSU’s loss to Iowa last week, an emotional Angel Reese said she has been receiving such threats since winning the national title in 2023. Days later, Iowa’s Gabbie Marshall deleted her social media altogether due to threats hurled her way after she drew a game-clinching foul against UConn in the Final Four.

    On the men’s side, Purdue’s Carson Barrett hit a three-pointer at the end of his team’s victory over Grambling State. That bucket appeared to have affected the betting outcome for people who had gambled on Purdue’s margin of victory. Barrett’s reward? A direct message on Instagram that told him to “slit you throat” for “taking that three”. The sender ended the message by telling Carter “I hope you kill yourself.”

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      Video game firms found to have broken their own industry rules on loot boxes

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Friday, 29 March - 12:51

    Government criticised over decision to let companies self-regulate gambling-style features after expert finds numerous breaches

    The government’s decision to let technology companies self-regulate gambling-style loot boxes in video games has been called into question, after some of the developers put in charge of new industry guidelines broke their own rules.

    In the past six months, the advertising regulator has upheld complaints against three companies involved in drawing up industry rules, including the leading developer Electronic Arts (EA), for failing to disclose that their games contained loot boxes.

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      ‘At war with myself’: with gambling on the rise, young addicts seek solace in an old program

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Sunday, 24 March - 10:00

    Inside Gambling Anonymous, the 12-step program offering compulsive gamblers help, and hope

    Each man enters the room, one by one, escaping the dark night outside. Before long some two dozen are sitting in a horseshoe. They hail from different worlds and different generations, but have been united by the same problem.

    For decades, Gamblers Anonymous (GA) has offered compulsive gamblers a place to share their stories, and listen to others, in the hope of turning their lives around. Veterans of the 12-step program say it is now experiencing a sharp rise in interest from troubled young addicts.

    Find out more about Gamblers Anonymous at gamblersanonymous.org .

    In the US, call the National Council on Problem Gambling at 800-GAMBLER or text 800GAM. In the UK, support for problem gambling can be found via the NHS National Problem Gambling Clinic on 020 7381 7722, or GamCare on 0808 8020 133. In Australia, Gambling Help Online is available on 1800 858 858 and the National Debt Helpline is at 1800 007 007.

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      Masters of spin – how slot machine operators are taking over UK high streets

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Sunday, 17 March - 10:00

    With concern focused on online casinos, the firms who run ‘adult gaming centres’ have been expanding fast – and glad-handing dozens of MPs

    In the corner of a dimly lit room, the face of a middle-aged woman is bathed in the greenish-yellow glare of a giant slot machine. Next to her, an increasingly agitated man jabs furiously at the “spin” button, as the jackpot eludes him yet again.

    It is early afternoon on a weekday and they are among half a dozen punters robotically feeding banknote after banknote into the mesmerising terminals of an “adult gaming centre”.

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      In the grip of slot machine addiction: ‘I’d keep loading £20s in. I could be in a daze’

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Sunday, 17 March - 10:00


    As ‘adult gaming centres’ spread across the UK, one woman tells of how she kept playing even after getting a cancer diagnosis

    Jackie Olden can pinpoint the troubling origin of her mum’s gambling addiction. “She was the kind of person who’d go to one shop where milk was a penny cheaper and another where bread was cheaper,” Olden recalls.

    “This [gambling] would never have entered her head.”

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      ‘Sneaky’ social media ads are luring young into gambling, say campaigners

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Sunday, 17 March - 07:00

    Call for stricter rules for betting firms to stop use of promotions with references to popular culture that appeal to under-18s

    Tougher rules are required to crack down on betting firms’ use of “sneaky” social media postings and campaigns that may lure young people into gambling, warns a new report.

    Researchers at Bristol University have reported a rise in gambling promotions that typically blur the line between advertising for a betting company and popular cultural references, from ET to Gladiator .

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      National Lottery operator had borrowed millions from Kremlin-owned banks

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Saturday, 9 March - 05:00

    Exclusive : Syndicate agreed to lend up to €640m to Allwyn in 2020, two years before contract awarded

    The company behind the national lottery was borrowing millions from Kremlin-owned banks when it won the UK’s largest public-sector contract, the Guardian can reveal.

    Russia’s two largest lenders, VTB and Sberbank, were part of a syndicate that agreed to lend up to €640m (£545m) to Allwyn in 2020, two years before the pan-European gaming specialist was named the “preferred bidder” for the £6.5bn lottery contract.

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