Unikrn

Any gambler will tell you that it's all about knowing when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em. And that’s great for playing poker...but what if our gambling hankering isn’t for card games, but for video games? What’s the trick there? Well, if Kenny Rogers was an esports gambling fan, he’d probably say that we’ve got to know when it’s legal…and know when it’s not. But if we’re in an area where it’s legal (more on that in just a sec), then Unikrn might just be our ace in the hole.

“Unikrn” is an online esports betting platform. All the favorites are there: Fortnite, Call of Duty, Overwatch, Rainbow 6…there are a plethora of video game tournaments just waiting to be bet on. And not only can we bet on tourneys, but we can also play, learn tips and tricks, and enter all kinds of Unikrn giveaways. And the bets and rewards are largely managed via Unikrn’s own Ethereum-based cryptocurrency, Unikoin. (Cutest name ever? Yes, it is.) Unikrn is headquartered in Vegas—of course—but has offices in Seattle, Sydney, and Berlin.

But back to that whole legal versus illegal thing. Unikrn does have a gambling license that allows them to operate anywhere gambling is legal. As of 2018, U.S. federal doesn’t specifically outlaw sports gambling, but it does leave it up to each state to legislate. So far, only four states have outright legal sports gambling—Delaware, Montana, Nevada, and Oregon—but the laws are a lot hazier when it comes to online betting. And they’re hazier still when it comes to esports online betting. So if making some Unikoin on Dota 2 tournaments sounds like it just might be the most awesome thing ever, we might want to take a look-see into our area’s esports betting laws before we, uh...play that hand.