Entain may be gobbled up by DraftKings, but that hasn’t stopped the U.K.-based sportsbook company from doing some buying of its own. The sportsbook completed the acquisition of Unikrn, a leader in esports betting and skill-based wagering. The deal affords Entain a way in to unveil innovative new esports products in 2022.
The purchase includes not only the technology, products, platform, and brand but a 50-person international team to let the new products roll out on a global stage. Justin Dellario signed on as managing director of esports.
Unikrn services include U-Mode, which enables players to bet on their own ranked matches, and Streamer Bet, a real-time updating odds for betting on Twitch streams.
“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 said.
Entain thinks the 450 million gamers may be suited to become new customers in other arenas like sports betting and iGaming. Entain will extend its safer gaming initiatives to customers involved in skills-based wagering, including the Counter-Strike Professional Players Association, which represents professional players across esports, Kindbridge and Rise Above the Disorder.
In other Entain news, the firm has taken flack for not paying out furlough funds received from the U.K. during lockdowns in 2020 and early 2021. The owner of Ladbrokes and Coral brands got £100 million (US$137.8 million) from the government to pay workers when the sportsbooks closed down, according to the iGaming Post.
Rob Wood, Entain finance director at the time, said the furlough scheme was “very positive” and enabled the group “to keep many, many thousands of people in employment.”
Companies such as William Hill repaid £24.5 million but Entain has not reached a decision, claiming it is under review in April. Meantime the company issued a profit forecast from £850 to £900 million for this year and made a profit of £175 million in 2020.
