Bowlero Is Facing a Class-Action Lawsuit for Ruining Bowling
A collection of bowlers has filed a class-action lawsuit accusing private equity–backed corporation Bowlero of a multiyear scheme to consolidate bowling centers, driving up prices and degrading lane quality.
A class action claims Bowlero bought up bowling alleys nationwide, raised prices, cut quality, and ruined an American pastime. (Lane Turner / the Boston Globe via Getty Images)
A collection of avid bowlers across the country has filed a class-action lawsuit against private equity–backed bowling giant Bowlero, accusing the company of a “multi-year anticompetitive scheme to consolidate bowling centers,” which has led to skyrocketing bowling prices, deteriorating lanes, and “the veritable destruction of the decades-old pastime of bowling in America,” according to court documents reviewed by the Lever.
In 2024, the Lever exposed the wide-ranging impacts of the Bowlero takeover, which bowlers say has led to a decline in quality at many beloved local bowling haunts.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Washington state federal court, charges Bowlero with violating federal antitrust law and state consumer protection laws as it bought up hundreds of bowling alleys around the country in its “quest to become the ‘Starbucks’ of bowling.”
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