The classic bowling pins at Garage Billiards & Bowl in Seattle were replaced with new pins attached to strings. An hour of bowling for one in Yonkers, N.Y., cost about $60, before food and drink, and the lane wasn’t even oiled. And in Oakland, Calif., a bowling center’s pin-setting machines often break.
These were just a few of the complaints in a lawsuit against Lucky Strike Entertainment Corporation this week by regular customers from across the United States whose community bowling alleys have been taken over by what they call a “Wall Street goliath.”
The lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Seattle, says Lucky Strike has built a bowling monopoly and is responsible for “the veritable destruction of the decades-old pastime of bowling in America.” The plaintiffs’s lawyers are seeking class-action status for the lawsuit, which asks for an undisclosed amount in damages.
Lucky Strike, which was formerly known as Bowlero, operates more than 360 bowling alleys in North America.
By buying out competitors “through unlawful acquisition,” the lawsuit says, Lucky Strike used a “predatory approach” that alienated “virtually every customer except those who have no interest in bowling.” As a result, the suit says, customers are paying more for a diminished experience that pushes loud music, alcohol and gambling.
In a statement, Lucky Strike Entertainment called the lawsuit meritless. The company “has spent more than three decades expanding opportunities for the sport of bowling and the communities we serve,” it said. “We are confident in our conduct, confident in the law, and we will defend this case vigorously and to the fullest.”
The plaintiffs accuse Lucky Strike, which became a public company in 2021, of using a “mousetrap” business model to increase prices — “bring them into the center to bowl, and then upsell and overcharge them on food and beverage.” That strategy and the company’s ensuing expansion had allowed Lucky Strike to leverage “its dominance to obtain more favorable terms from suppliers than its competitors can obtain,” citing contracts with lane oil providers and food and beverage companies, the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit also accuses Lucky Strike of promoting gambling through “center-based ‘monetization’ apps.”
The company dates to 1997, when its founders transformed Bowlmor Lanes in Manhattan into an upscale nightlife destination. In 2013, Bowlmor acquired AMF Bowling Centers and rebranded the entities under the Bowlero brand the following year. They also acquired the Brunswick Corporation’s bowling center business.
In 2019, Bowlero acquired the Professional Bowlers Association, the sport’s sanctioning body and professional league. The lawsuit said the purchase “altered the bowling center market structure to disadvantage competitors, who know they must stay in Bowlero’s good graces so as not to jeopardize their ability to partner with the P.B.A.”
Bowlero announced in 2021 that it would go public on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “BOWL” with a valuation of $2.6 billion. At the time, it operated nearly eight times as many bowling centers its closest rival, the lawsuit said.
The company continued its “roll-up” acquisition strategy, purchasing Bowl America for $44 million in 2021 as well as dozens of independent bowling centers across the country between 2021 and 2024.
In May 2022, for example, it acquired three bowling centers in Wichita, Kan. Prices rose sharply, prompting many longtime league bowlers to quit, the lawsuit said. At one alley, the cost of lanes, food and beverages tripled. In Seattle, two hours of bowling for three people in 2023 cost $285, the plaintiffs said. The lawsuit accuses Lucky Strike of using dynamic pricing, a strategy in which companies raise prices as demand rises, particularly on weekends when families are more likely to visit.
In September 2023, Bowlero acquired the high-end bowling company Lucky Strike for about $90 million in an all-cash deal. By the end of 2024, the company had rebranded as Lucky Strike Entertainment and adopted the stock ticker symbol “LUCK.”
The lawsuit is not the only source of legal trouble Lucky Strike is facing. In 2023, the company became the subject of a sprawling federal investigation into allegations of age discrimination and retaliation. That case is still pending.
Laura Hampton, who joined her first bowling league when she was 12, said Lucky Strike has de-emphasized league play at the bowling alley she frequents, a former Bowl America in Prince William County, Va. She said Lucky Strike has maximized open play over the leagues she participates in since it took over several years ago. League bowlers are bowling alley’s “No. 1 customers,” she said, returning week after week for years.
Ms. Hampton, 53, who is not a plaintiff in the lawsuit, worries that future bowlers won’t have the same experience, especially if there is a financial barrier.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re an Olympic athlete or a regular person, everyone can bowl,” she said. “How is that next generation going to be able to get involved if the prices are so high?”
