Got Any Quarters? Periscope Invests in Amusement Connect

Periscope Equity has made an investment in Amusement Connect, a Kansas City-headquartered cashless payment platform used in the amusement and family entertainment industry.

Amusement Connect designs, manufactures, and supports cashless card systems used by operators of arcades, family entertainment centers (FECs), bowling centers, skating rinks, bar-cades, and restaurants.

The company’s core product pairs RFID (radio-frequency identification) game card readers and self-service kiosks with a cloud-native software suite covering point-of-sale, redemption management, analytics, and mobile payment capabilities. The integrated system allows operators to replace coin-operated machines with card-based transactions, centralize venue management, and access real-time performance data across locations.Amusement Connect’s product line addresses a market historically dominated by legacy coin-operated equipment and fragmented management tools. The company’s pricing model and U.S.-based customer support have made it attractive to independent route operators and smaller FECs that previously lacked access to the technology systems available to large national entertainment chains. The company’s newest product, MobileMech, retrofits existing coin-operated machines with digital payment capability, allowing operators to modernize legacy equipment without full hardware replacement.

Frank Licausi, a route operator and family entertainment center owner in Kansas City, co-founded Amusement Connect in 2017 with longtime friend and automotive executive John Tarpley. The two built the company after experiencing what they described as high costs, outdated technology, and poor customer service from legacy card system vendors. Amusement Connect scaled from its founding to more than 800 customers and 3,000-plus locations without institutional capital, funding growth through operating cash flow.Today, Mr. Licausi serves as CEO, and Mr. Tarpley serves as chief customer and brand officer. Tom Jayroe serves as president and has been with the company throughout its growth.

“As a longtime route operator and family entertainment center owner, I saw a clear market opportunity,” said Mr. Licausi. “Route Operators and smaller FECs couldn’t access the technology systems that larger FECs had, resulting in owners leaving revenue on the table and struggling to maximize profitability for their venues. John and I set out to bridge the gap and drive innovation in specialty payment solutions for the entire amusement industry, and we’re excited to say we’ve made an impact. We’re proud of what we’ve created, and we’re thrilled to have Periscope’s support in our next chapter.”

“Looking ahead, this partnership is about accelerating what we build for our customers,” said Mr. Tarpley. “We have spent the last several years engineering an award-winning cashless platform — from our card readers and kiosks to our cloud-based software and our new MobileMech device. Periscope gives us the resources to push product innovation even further and faster. Our customers will see the benefit in better tools, more features and the same dependable US-based support they count on every day.”

The indoor amusement center market is in a sustained expansion driven by growing consumer spending on experiential entertainment, increased demand for weather-independent leisure venues, and the rapid adoption of digital payment and venue management technology. According to Grand View Research, the global indoor amusement center market was valued at $54.7 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $121.5 billion by 2033, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.9%. Arcade games represented the largest product segment, accounting for 26% of revenue in 2025. The shift from cash and coin to cashless card and mobile payment systems is accelerating across the FEC segment as operators seek to improve transaction speed, reduce cash handling, and capture revenue from guests who carry no cash.

“John and Frank have already established Amusement Connect as a trusted provider of payment solutions for the amusement industry nationwide, and we see tremendous global potential,” said Joe McIlhattan, a principal at Periscope. “The business checks every box in Periscope’s mandate: founder-led, tech-enabled, mission-critical to its customers, and offers a wide variety of achievable value creation levers. We’re proud to back a company with such a strong reputation for innovation and customer service, and we are excited for the growth ahead.”

Periscope Equity makes control buyouts of founder- or management-led technology-enabled business services companies that have revenues from $10 million to $100 million and EBITDA from $2 million to $10 million.

“Amusement Connect represents exactly the kind of company we look to partner with: a founder-led business with a differentiated, award-winning product, a loyal and growing customer base of more than 800 venues and 3,000-plus locations, strong unit economics, and a clear path to geographic and product expansion,” said Steve Jarmel, a partner at Periscope.

The buy of Amusement Connect is the first platform investment for Periscope Equity III LP, the firm’s $370 million third fund, which closed in August 2025. The firm’s two earlier funds closed in December 2020 with $225 million of capital and in July 2018 with $104 million of capital. Since raising its first institutional fund in 2018, the Chicago-based firm has raised approximately $700 million in committed capital across three funds, made 11 platform investments, and completed 28 add-on acquisitions.