If you've ever spent more than a few minutes reading about eSports betting, then it's likely you've heard of Unikrn. This company has gone from an eSports-specific betting site, to now a fully-functioning sportsbook and casino. One thing that should be noted, though, is that Unikrn isn't available in the United Kingdom. If you reside in the UK and are looking for a new bookie, take a look at our list of the UK's top betting sites. Bettors in Canada, Europe, and fans of eSports in general still have plenty to look forward to, though. Continue reading our Unikrn review below to discover all their exciting features!
If you're from Canada, New Zealand, India, or a European country, then you're definitely in luck with Unikrn. They have a great deposit bonus for new customers that's both generous and has achievable wagering requirements:
Unikrn Welcome Bonus |
Deposit $20, Get $60! |
3x Match Deposit. Applies to first deposit. Eligible regions only. Min deposit $10. Max bonus $60. Standard bonus terms and conditions apply. |
As far as sign-up offers go, Unikrn is well ahead of a lot of other bookies here. While there are a lot of bonuses out there that are extremely difficult to redeem, the Unikrn sign-up offer is more than realistic with their 3x deposit + bonus wagering requirement and giving punters 90 days to meet that requirement. The odds restriction of 1.50 is pretty standard for the industry, and both single bets and accas contribute towards wagering requirements.
When it comes to reviewing sportsbooks, it takes more than some great welcome bonuses to get the SportsBeting24 seal of approval. Punters at Unikrn have tons of different options at their fingertips to add value to their Unikrn betting experience.
The offers available change regularly, so we can't get too specific here, but at the time of writing, there are 6 different offers and promotions for the sports betting section of their site, not including the sign-up bonuses listed above. From deposit matches, to betting "punch cards" that reward you with free bets after wagering a number of bets, to bet insurance on risky multi-bets, there are lots of different ways that punters can add value to their sports betting experience at Unikrn
While Unikrn might not be licensed by the UK Gambling Commission just yet, they do possess a remote gambling licence from the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission. While that doesn't quite carry the same clout as a UKGC licence, the Isle of Man's GSC is still known as one of the most transparent and trustworthy licensing authorities out there.
At site level, Unikrn is 256-bit SSL secured, making it almost impossible for third parties to penetrate. We were also pleased to see that Unikrn is a member of the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC), who are dedicated to making sure that eSports remains corruption-free, scam-free, and is held to the same standards of integrity as regular sports.
A look at a few independent community forums and trust sites didn't turn up any red flags either, with most users having positive things to say about the site, while some others lamented the geographical restrictions. In terms of trust and security, Unikrn definitely seem deserving of the SportsBetting24 seal of approval!
Unikrn definitely stands out from the crowd for a number of reasons, and their payment options definitely play a part in that. While there are definitely some recognisable methods like the e-wallets Skrill, Neteller, and the pre-paid PaySafeCard, Unikrn are nothing if not unique.
For starters, they're a Bitcoin betting site, which is extremely rare. What's even more surprising is that they have their own cryptocurrency, called Unikoin. More specifically, Unikoin Gold. There's a Unikoin Silver, but that isn't actually a cryptocurrency and works more like a proprietary on-site currency or reward points. Unless you're going to use some of the site's video-game-specific features, you won't need to think about Unikoin Silver very much.
Payment Method |
Withdrawal Time |
Cryptocurrencies |
Instant |
Unikoin Gold |
Instant |
Neteller |
Up to 24 hours |
Skrill |
Up to 24 hours |
Fast Bank Transfer |
Up to 24 hours |
Debit / Credit Card |
1-3 Working Days |
As far as fees go, if you're using Unikoin Gold, then a 1 UKG (between €0.03 and €0.04) fee will apply to any transaction, though this is small enough to be completely negligible. Other than that, Unikrn doesn't charge any withdrawal fees, though always check to see if your payment method provider does, just in case.
Traditional sports betting is still relatively new to Unikrn. Once they were done revolutionising eSports betting, all that was left was for them to include traditional sports, too.
For starters, punters can look forward to a variety of sports and events being covered. When it comes to actually placing bets, Unikrn tend to have tons of betting markets available, making it easy to build a varied and specific betlsip.
When heading to the sports betting section of the site, you'll find a long list of available sports in the left hand column. When clicking on a sport, you can then choose a specific tournament or event to zero in on. Opening up a specific match gives you access to either a live stream (more on this below) or match statistics, followed by all the different betting markets available to you.
We would like to see Unikrn add support for more sports in the future, though with the exception of horse racing, all the most popular sports are available, as well a few niche ones. Another thing that could definitely improve here is the amount of markets available on some of the less popular sports. When it comes to betting on table tennis, for example, all that's available is outrights.
As you can see below, Unikrn do a great job at providing their users with quality odds. We put them up against Unibet, a bookie that's famous for having phenomenal odds, and Unikrn's odds ended up being nearly identical.
We grabbed a random match from a random tournament and compared the odds across three different betting sites, and calculated the overrround score for each. Unikrn did exceptionally well, and punters should have nothing to worry about when placing their bets at Unikrn.
|
Unikrn |
Unibet |
Betfair |
Team A |
1.8 |
1.79 |
1.70 |
Draw |
3.25 |
3.40 |
3.25 |
Team B |
4.20 |
4.10 |
4.33 |
Overround |
110.1 |
109.7 |
112.7 |
eSports is the whole reason Unikrn was ever founded. This is one of the most advanced eSports betting platforms out there, so if you're looking to bet on League Of Legends, or even Fortnite, Unikrn is the place for you.
Almost every single eSports match includes a live stream, so live betting aficionados can follow along while strategising and placing their bets. The amount of betting markets available on most eSports matches is phenomenal. Even more obscure eSports, like Rocket League, have tons of different exotics available, like map winners, over/under bets on number of rounds, and more.
Tournament-based eSports betting isn't the end of it, though, Unikrn also allows users to place bets on Twitch streams.
When it comes to battle royale games like Fortnite, Apex Legends, or Player Unknown's Battlegrounds, there aren't tons of tournaments and leagues like there are for games like CS:GO and Dota 2. There are, however, tons of streamers out there who broadcast themselves playing these games for hours and hours every day.
Unikrn allows users to place in-play bets on tons of different streamers, like the famous Loeya and FaZe Replays. Unikrn employ an advanced AI algorithm to "understand" what's happening in the live stream and generate exotics and odds for players to bet on.
This is something that Unikrn have been doing since early 2019, and is their biggest claim to fame. They managed to bridge the gap between live streaming professional gamers and the eSports betting community.
Just like we'd expect from a young, tech-focused betting site like Unikrn, the mobile betting experience is a dream. Their mobile site is even smoother and slicker than the desktop site, while retaining all the same functionality and features.
It's easy to navigate your way through the mobile site, though we have one bone to pick: it's pretty difficult to find the sportsbook section of the site, and that's the only part of the site that's hard to find. You either need to navigate to "eSports Betting" and then tap on the little trophy icon to switch over from eSports betting to traditional sports betting; or scroll down to the page footer and tap on "Sports". Despite this slight hitch, though, Unikrn is completely mobile-friendly.
Other than this slight annoyance, the mobile site performs fantastically well. However, what most punters to a mobile site is an app, which begs the question: Does Unikrn have apps?
There's an Android app available, however no iOS app. The Android app, due to Google Play Store restrictions in most markets, isn't available on the Play Store and has to be downloaded in APK form from Unikrn's website.
While it isn't as easy as tapping "install" on the Play Store, downloading and installing the Unikrn Android app is actually very straightforward.
If you're one of those punters who lives for the rush of in-play betting, then Unikrn is the bookie for you. The site's UI makes it easy to build your betslip, plan your next move, and watch the live stream all at once. Which brings me to my next point, Unikrn is one of the only betting sites out there that includes live streams of matches whenever possible.
Of course, this is much easier for eSports matches, because most of these are broadcast for free on sites like Twitch and YouTube, however Unikrn also offer live streaming for some traditional sports matches too. When a live stream isn't available, punters have access to a handy stats display, much like with other betting sites.
While there are some sports that could do with a few more betting markets, bigger sports like football, tennis, and rugby are all well represented. Even live matches have decent selections of betting markets available, which is a lot better than we can say about some other bookies out there.
Unikrn isn't your run-of-the-mill traditional sportsbook and casino, and in many ways, that's a great thing. It does mean, however, that some of the staples of a traditional online bookie, such as a VIP programme or traditional rewards programme, are missing.
We're sure that at some point Unikrn will have a VIP programme, but for now, high rollers might want to look elsewhere to get the most bang for their buck.
They do have a feature called Unikrn Connekt that allows users to earn Unikoin Gold, the site's proprietary cryptocurrency. Unikrn Connect is, however, not really related to their betting product at all, other than you can use the Unikoin Gold to place bets. Connekt is a feature that allows users to earn cryptocurrency through linking their Steam accounts and playing video games on their PC.
One of the most important aspects of any online betting site is their customer service, and this is the section of our Unikrn sportsbook review where we see if they measure up.
Before we get into direct contact methods, we find that one of the most useful things that a bookie can do to help their users is write a searchable, comprehensive FAQ or Help section. Unikrn definitely tick that box, with a Help sub-site that is wonderfully thorough and complete, and is even searchable. This means that most players are unlikely to need to talk to a customer service representative at all.
If you do need to talk to a customer support representative, though, Unikorn could offer a few more options. They have what they claim to be 24/7 live chat, though we found that we'd often be greeted with messages saying things along the lines of "no one is available right now, someone will be with you in an hour. The response will be sent to your email address".
Accessing the live chat wasn't as easy as it is with some other bookies, with users needing to navigate to the "Help" section before being able to use the live chat feature. This, coupled with the lack of proper email support or phone support adds up to Unikrn needing to funnel a little more attention into customer service.
Unikrn is certainly an interesting bookie, especially for those punters who love eSports betting, but their biggest hurdle right now is availability. They're available in countries like New Zealand and Canada, though they haven't done much to come up with country-specific promotions or made deals with localised payment method providers like Interac. The biggest issue we see with this is actually the lack of currency support. While they accept a long list of different cryptocurrencies, they don't accept currencies like the Canadian Dollar or New Zealand Dollar yet. This means that a lot of their users are likely to need to incur currency conversion charges when using the site.
Another hurdle is the lack of language support. Unikrn is available in countries like India, the Netherlands, Germany, and Japan, however is only available in English. We'd like to see Unikrn put a bit more effort into becoming a global operator, but they aren't quite there yet.
Unikrn is one of the most unique sportsbooks we've reviewed in a while, and certainly the most eSports-focused one. Though, the real question to end this Unikrn sportsbook review is: Does Unikrn hold up as a whole sportsbook?
Our answer is: Yes, Unikrn is definitely a betting site to watch. It isn't perfect yet, though neither are any of the sportsbooks listed on SportsBetting24. They have exceptional odds, a great live betting suite, accept a host of cryptocurrencies, as well as being the only site we've ever heard of that allows people to bet on live streamers.
Unikrn Review Overview | |
---|---|
Evaluation: | 4.0 |
Number of Bonuses: | 2 |
Number of Withdrawal Options: | 4 |
Number of Deposit Options: | 4 |
Number of Currencies: | 5 |
Number of Languages: | 7 |
Number of Sports: | 25 |
Number of Casino Games: | 0 |
Mobile Betting: | Yes |
Live Betting: | No |
Number of Excluded Countries: | 215 |
Number of Licences: | 1 |