Entain revealed its plans to secure esports wagering platform Unikrn in August this year, and has now followed up by completing the acquisition of the betting platform’s assets. Entain bought Unikrn in its entirety, bringing the website’s platform, technology and existing portfolio along with its 50-man team under the entertainment giant’s roof.
Looking after the Future of Esports Betting
The company’s goal remains dedicated to fulfilling its mission statement, which is to “build new and innovative esports products for consumers.” Unlike other esports betting platforms, Unikrn has been able to break the mold of traditional gambling by offering players a chance to weigh bets on their own performance.
Unikrn has developed the U-Mode option, which allows gamers to place a wager on how far they can make it into a video game, with U-Mode collecting information in real-time and assessing every user’s performance. The platform argues that it’s capable of detecting surprising spikes in performance to prevent “smurfing,” whereby a player would wager on their own performance but ask a more experienced player to step in.
According to Unikrn, U-Mode is perfectly equipped to detect this type of aberrations. Unikrn also has another distinguishable product, namely Streamer Bet, which is a real-time betting platform that wagers on Twitch streamers. Commenting on this partnership, Entain managing director of esports Justin Dellario has welcomed the addition of Unikrn, stating, “With Unikrn, we’ll now be able to offer competitive gamers and esports fans alike rewarding experiences surrounding the games and events they love.” Dellario was brought from the Amazon-owned streaming giant Twitch to help Entain find its bearings in the promising market of competitive video gaming.
Entain and Unikrn Committed to Esports Integrity
Entain’s push into the esports space comes at a pivotal time for betting and the competitive video gaming industry as a whole. Globally, esports audiences are slated to reach 577.2 million viewers by 2024. Entain is cognizant of the immense potential that esports giants have to play in consumer acquisition.
While esports was originally seen as a conduit for sports betting companies to convert more video gamers into sports fans, the opposite trend has been observed over the years.
Similar to Unikrn, companies such as Rivalry and Luckbox have been launched to cater fully to the esports sector rather than the other way around. Esports fans are also young, usually in the age groups between 18 and 35. Entain also expects to see an estimated $27.60 million in addressable market income through social and esports offerings by 2025.
Entain has already established itself in the esports space through the “Mind Your Game” platform developed to safeguard vulnerable esports players. Unikrn, for its part, is a member of the Esports Integrity Coalition, as is Entain. The betting platform also supports the Counter-Strike Professional Players Association to guarantee a level of trust that esports fans can enjoy placing a bet.
