A South Carolina advocacy group has taken Dave & Buster’s to federal court, arguing the company’s arcade model crosses into illegal gambling. The case landed April 15 in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.
The organization, SC Citizens for Equal Enforcement of Gambling Laws, LLC, says the company’s machines effectively let customers risk money for a shot at winning more. In the filing, the group argues the setup “permit patrons to deposit money for the purpose of trying to ‘win’ more by playing games of skill or chance.” It contends that structure fits the legal definition of gambling because players put money on the line for something of value.
The complaint focuses on locations in Myrtle Beach, Columbia, and Greenville. It aims to recover losses for customers who spent more than $50 in a single visit and didn’t bring their own claims within three months. The group is seeking triple damages under state law, plus legal fees.
How Dave & Buster’s games and prizes factor into the claims made by South Carolina group
The lawsuit walks through how the system operates. Customers load money onto a “Power Card,” then use those credits across a range of games. Some depend on player ability, like basketball shooting or skee-ball. Others hinge largely on luck, including spinning wheels and coin-pusher machines.
Players receive electronic tickets based on performance or outcomes. According to the filing, “the more tickets a player accumulates, the more valuable a prize the player can acquire.” The prizes range from small items to higher-end electronics, including gaming consoles, tablets, and virtual reality headsets, along with store credits.
Images attached to the complaint show the environment in detail. Photos on pages 5 and 6 depict bright, wheel-style and roulette-like machines, while page 8 shows shelves lined with electronics available for redemption.
The plaintiff says the entire experience is built around what the company itself promotes as “the opportunity to win.” The complaint also pulls from the company’s own filings, quoting language that says this feature “creates ‘a fun and highly energized social experience that is an important aspect of the in-store experience and cannot be easily replicated at home.’”
To support its legal argument, the lawsuit points to a recent South Carolina court decision that said gambling laws apply whether a game involves chance, skill, or a mix of both, as long as something of value is at stake. It cites wording from that ruling stating the law bans “gaming machines that attract players to deposit money for the purpose of trying to ‘win’ more, whether by skill or chance.”
Using the company’s financial disclosures, the complaint claims most customers lose more than they win. It alleges that “a patron who loads $55.00 onto a Power Card loses $50.33 on average at a single sitting.”
The group is asking the court to declare the gaming model illegal, force the company to identify customer losses, and award damages under a longstanding state law that allows third parties to recover gambling losses when individuals do not sue themselves.
ReadWrite has reached out to Dave & Buster’s for comment.
Featured image: Mike Mozart of TheToyChannel and JeepersMedia on YouTube / CC BY 2.0
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