Unikrn, an eSports Betting Site, Is Coming to the US with Virtual Money

Unikrn, one of the bigger players in the emerging space of online eSports betting, is finally coming to the United States, but it won't let users make bets with real money.

While the site has allowed eSports fans in the UK, Ireland, and Australia to place bets as high as $250 on eSports matches, this type of online gambling isn't legal in the United States.

Unikrn users in the United States can now place bets on matches, but they're playing for "Unikoins," a virtual currency specific to the the platform, not real money.

As Unikrn's director of eSports and in-house counsel Bryce Blum explained to Motherboard, this type of gambling is legal in the United States because users are placing bets for free, and aren't winning real money in return.

However, gamblers aren't just stacking these Unikoins up for bragging rights. They can also spend them at the Unikrn Marketplace, where they can enter raffles to win prizes like gaming PCs, headsets, these ridiculous Gunnar gaming glasses, and other items.

Unikrn isn't going to earn money with Unikoins, but it might help it establish a user base for when real money eSports betting will become legal in the United States. Blum said Unikrn is very confident this will happen.

"it's a question of when, not if," Blum said. "Hundreds of billions of dollars are illegally wagered on sports in the US every year. Making it illegal doesn't stop people from betting, it simply diminishes the ability for interested parties to regulate the industry and safeguard competitive integrity."

Unikrn users are encouraged to invest in their time in this virtual currency by getting Unikoins when creating an account, answering trivia questions, placing bets, and getting involved with Unikrn on social media.

Countries in which users are using Unikrn to place bets with real money can of course continue to do so, but can now also play with Unikoins.

Unikrn is joining other eSports betting sites in the United States that let players gamble with different workarounds. Vulcun, for example, a fantasy eSports betting site that launched earlier this year, is legal because players are building their own fantasy teams instead of betting on specific matches, just like popular and legal fantasy sports betting sites DraftKings and FanDuel.