Lucra and Barkie.ai Announce Strategic Partnership to Bring Real-Money Side Games to the Golf Course Through Voice-Activated AI

NEW YORK, NY, November 12, 2026 (EZ Newswire) — Lucra, the leading social competition platform, today announced a partnership with Barkie.ai, the first voice-activated AI golf caddie. Through Lucra’s plug-and-play SDK, golfers using Barkie will be able to compete in popular golf games like Nassau, Skins, Wolf, and a wide variety of other traditional side games and challenges, with Barkie’s voice-activated AI handling scoring and Lucra powering the competition and settlement experience for real money or rewards.

Barkie was built so golfers could keep their phones in their pockets and enjoy the game, distraction-free. Players talk to Barkie to post scores, get GPS distances, read greens, and ask for on-course advice and rules questions, all hands-free. Saying “Hey Barkie, put me down for a birdie” logs the score for you. Barkie tracks every side game and press in real time, hole by hole, so the math is done before the group reaches the next tee.

The experience begins before the round even starts, where the group sets the match by voice, naming the format and the desired amount for the game. As each hole wraps up, players call out their scores and Barkie keeps the match current. When the round ends, Lucra settles it. Real-money play is available to eligible players 18+ where permitted, and free-to-play formats with rewards are open to all players. Lucra handles identity verification, geolocation, payments, compliance, fraud prevention, and settlement, so Barkie can stay focused on the golf.

“I came up with the idea for Lucra on a golf course, over a $5 match between friends,” said Dylan Robbins, founder and CEO of Lucra. “Every golfer knows that match. Someone keeps score on the card, someone does the math on the 18th green, and someone owes somebody until next time. Barkie handles the scoring and the math by voice, with nobody reaching for a phone. Lucra handles the payout, compliantly, the moment the round ends. From the first tee to the last putt, the match runs itself.”

“We built Barkie to let golfers put their phones away and enjoy the game, while making the entire golf experience smarter and more connected,” said Dane Renkert, CEO and co-founder of Barkie.ai. “Competition has always been part of golf, whether it’s a $5 Nassau or a weekend Skins game with friends. By combining Barkie’s voice AI with Lucra’s technology, we’re bringing those experiences together in a way that hasn’t been possible before. We believe this is a major step toward making Barkie the platform golfers turn to every time they play.”

For Barkie, the partnership represents a major expansion of its voice-first AI golf platform, combining hands-free scoring, real-time competition, and automated settlement into one experience. By bringing the technology together, Barkie and Lucra aim to make competitive golf more accessible, engaging, and seamless while creating new opportunities for recurring engagement and revenue.

Lucra and Barkie have begun integration, with real-money and free-to-play side games launching inside the Barkie app in spring 2027. Barkie is free to download on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

About Lucra

Lucra powers competitive loyalty through a plug-and-play SDK, which integrates into apps or websites and enables tournaments, mini-games, and peer-vs-peer competitions, with real money or rewards. It handles compliance, payments, fraud prevention, and settlement out of the box, so partners can instantly offer gamified experiences without building or managing complex infrastructure themselves. Top entertainment, hospitality, and consumer brands, including Five Iron Golf, Backyard Sports, ChessKings, TouchTunes, and more, use Lucra’s white-label technology to power tournaments and challenges, build loyalty, and drive new revenue. Learn more at playlucra.com.

About Barkie.ai

Barkie.ai is a voice-first AI golf caddie that gets to know your game better than you do. Golfers talk to Barkie before, during, and after the round, scoring by voice, tracking side games in real time, and getting GPS distances, course maps, and 3D green maps for more than 40,000 courses. Every shot trains a model of your game, turning each round into sharper advice and faster improvement, while a social layer no other golf app offers lets golfers connect, compete, and track progress together. Barkie is USGA compatible and works on iPhone, Android, and Apple Watch with no extra hardware. The company was founded by CEO Dane Renkert, a scratch golfer, former Milwaukee Brewers farm system player, and top-15 globally ranked long-drive-competitor with a decade of VP-level leadership in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Learn more at barkie.ai.

Important Disclosures

Contests, competitions, and cash prize matches powered by Lucra are peer-to-peer, skill-based games designed strictly for recreational entertainment. Contests are available solely to eligible individuals who are at least 18 years of age (or the legal age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence) and who are physically located in jurisdictions where real-money skill gaming is permitted by law. Void where prohibited, restricted, or taxed. Lucra is not a sportsbook, casino, gambling operator, or wagering platform, and contests hosted on the platform do not involve games of chance or sports betting. Lucra maintains proprietary compliance infrastructure — including age verification, geolocation verification, fraud monitoring, and secure payment processing — to ensure compliance with applicable federal and state laws. Participation is governed by Lucra’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Media Contact

Lucra
press@playlucra.com

Barkie.ai
press@barkie.ai

SOURCE: Lucra