Unikrn relaunched on Thursday, but the esports brand owned by Entain won’t go live in the US or Ontario until at least 2023. Justin Dellario, Entain’s esports managing director and CEO of Unikrn, spoke with Bonus yesterday about the relaunch.
Dellario said esports players can use the app now in Brazil and all areas of Canada but Ontario.
The latter province expanded its legal iGaming market on April 4. Now, Ontario regulates private operators and began penalizing unrepentant gray market sites on Halloween.
Unikrn may be a niche brand, but its parent company, Entain, also shares ownership of the top legal US online casino, BetMGM. It formed that brand as a joint venture with retail casino and hotel operator MGM Resorts International. As well as leading the US market, BetMGM Casino, BetMGM Sportsbook and BetMGM Poker are among the legal sites in Ontario’s online gambling market.
Unikrn will begin taking bets in regulated markets next year, Dellario says.
Dellario Talks Relaunch Plans
Bonus asked Dellario questions about Unikrn’s relaunch. He answered them yesterday. The Bonus questions are in bold. Dellario’s responses follow verbatim.
Why did you pick those places to relaunch?
Much like our parent company, Entain, unikrn has committed to only expanding into markets that are domestically regulated. When we looked at opportunities for launch, we were immediately drawn to both Brazil and Canada. Brazil maintains a massive sports and esports fanbase and has seen considerable growth in the Valorant and CS:GO scenes over the past two years. Meanwhile, Canada has been a core fixture of North American esports, having developed multiple stars in the world’s biggest titles, such as League of Legends, while also serving as the home of Ubisoft Montreal’s Rainbow Six: Siege. We believe there is a bright future for gaming and esports betting in these countries.
We are focused on bringing the best experience possible to our Brazilian and Canadian players. But we are also looking to expand aggressively around the world over the next year-plus to challenge the status quo and bring the most expansive video games and esports betting platform on the market to more players.
You saw Vie.gg rise and fall in New Jersey. You also see Rivalry succeeding in Ontario. How are you different?
We strive to challenge the status quo within the betting industry. To evolve beyond a transactional relationship by putting the players first. We also understand that net-new bettors are not familiar with many of the standard industry terms and operations. So we want to remove those barriers and empower them to place better bets and level up their betting experience. When combined with our focus on safe, secure, and regulated gambling, we believe we are building a sustainable strategy that will give our users everything they need from an esportsbook and more!
We believe unikrn sets ourselves apart with the wealth of different options that we are able to provide. Our esportsbook features odds for more than 35 different major gaming titles across all our products. Substantially more than any other esportsbook. Whether it’s skill betting or traditional esports betting, we give players more ways to win by hosting a wide variety of different markets to allow them to customize their experience. That ensures we stand out compared to our peers.
What else should Bonus readers know about you?
The launch of unikrn in both Brazil and Canada is just the first step as we introduce a video-games-and-esports betting platform that truly puts a new generation of players and their passions first. We are continually innovating and will evolve our product suite as our brand’s footprint expands. And we are excited to share those developments with you as they are ready.
Dellario broke out Unikrn’s features
Here’s a breakdown of what players in Brazil and Canada can take advantage of today:
- UMode: unikrn’s UMode empowers players to bet on their own skills in the games they love to play. So they can put their abilities to the test and compete for more than just bragging rights. UMode gives players a quick and convenient way to raise the stakes of their ranked matches. And rewards competitive players by giving players greater rewards for greater play in the world’s most popular games.
- unikrn Virtual: unikrn Virtual gives players a non-stop stream of esports action to bet on, with new events and markets available around the clock. unikrn’s exclusive Virtual esports collection features hundreds of hours of world-class players facing off in your favorite sports games, fighting games, and more. Including Counter Strike: Global Offensive, NBA2K, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter V, among others.
- unikrn Esportsbook: Our book brings premier esports tournaments and the biggest sporting events into one convenient place, giving players more titles, more markets, and more ways to level up the fun every day. Whether you enjoy MOBAs, battle royales, or classic FPS titles, unikrn features dozens of esports titles in all your favorite genres. From traditional betting on matches to betting on matches in real-time, unikrn will have an industry-defining number of options for bettors.
- unikrn Moneymatch: That friend who always boasts about being the better player is about to be called to the mat. unikrn Moneymatch gives players the opportunity to face off in public or private lobbies across a variety of different titles, with bragging rights and real money on the line. This community match-making tool is the perfect way to settle which of your friends has what it takes to emerge victorious.
- unikrn Sportsbook: Players can bet on the biggest sporting events from around the world. Combined with unikrn’s esportsbook, 3 million unique markets are offered every month. Allowing users to customize their betting experience and combine their sports and esports passions in one convenient place.
- unikrn Casino: unikrn casino features … hundreds of premium casino titles that give players opportunities to win every day. From classic card games to the latest premium slots titles, unikrn casino has everything gamers are looking for and more.
- unikrn Rewards: unikrn’s rewards system allows players to earn bonuses just by playing their favorite titles. After linking their game account to their unikrn account, players will earn rewards after each match they play that can be used across the platform’s product suite, with additional rewards opportunities for each win. Players can also earn daily rewards whenever they place bets on the platform.
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