*By Brandon Brathwaite*
After the "TMartin Counter-Strike: Global Offensive" skin scandal ー in which CSGO Lotto deceived users into thinking their odds were more favorable than they actually were ー the subject of gambling and esports became a point of serious tension for gamers.
For companies like Unikrn, which built its platform on the practice of esports betting, battling that stigma is a central, implicit part of the operation.
But according to CEO and co-founder Rahul Sood, the company is determined to make betting on esports a “safe, legal, and relegated” space.
Sood told Cheddar Sports: “I like to bet on sports and I like to bet on esports.”
“Up until now,” he added, “there hasn’t been a comprehensive legit space to bet.”
Fortunately, Sood has some pretty influential partners.
Unikrn has investments from celebrity names like Mark Cuban and Ashton Kutcher ー the company has raised $10 million in venture funding and an additional $25 million for an initial coin offering for its cryptocurrency, UnikoinGold. Through UnikoinGold or U.S. dollars, users can bet on esports events ー and even bet on themselves in games.
“For example, you can load up a game in ‘Fortnite’ and you can bet on yourself that you’ll be 1 of 100. We’ll put odds on your chances of being that one of 100,” Sood said.
As for the prospects of esports as a whole, Sood is optimistic about its future ー and he pointed to moments like Drake and Ninja’s Twitch stream as a positive indicator of its growth. He predicted that "the future of sports is really esports."
“When you start to look at these older sports they’re losing the younger demographic or their fans are getting older,” Sood said.
“More esports fans are being born. That’s just the reality of the situation.”
NBA all-star Jrue Holiday is working to combat systemic racism by donating his remaining salary. The New Orleans Pelicans guard is working with Resilia, a technology platform, to track his donations and ensure change is really happening.
DraftKings shares climbed in midday trading after announcing that basketball legend Michael Jordan would take an ownership stake in the company in exchange for becoming a special adviser to the sports betting site.
The Washington Football Team has named Jason Wright as president, making him the youngest and first Black president in the league. Wright joined Cheddar to discuss the historic feat.
ll three NBA playoff games scheduled for Wednesday have been postponed, with players around the league choosing to boycott in their strongest statement yet against racial injustice.
Former New York Giants player, Zak DeOssie talks new career path in finance at Goldman Sachs and his experience in New York.
Tech startup Airspace has developed technology that utilizes a company's camera system to detect whether or not people are wearing face masks. Co-founder and CEO, Jaz Banga, talks about the company's goal of providing data for partners to create safe environments.
Dodger Stadium will serve as a vote center for the presidential election in November, making the Dodgers the first Major League Baseball team to make their venue available for voting.
The Big Ten and Pac-12 won't play football this fall because of concerns about COVID-19, taking two of college football's five power conferences out of a crumbling season amid the pandemic.
Tony Petitti is leaving Major League Baseball after 12 years to become president of sports and entertainment for the video game and esports company Activision Blizzard Inc.
We're talking NBA ahead of tonight's return to game play with Turner Sports EVP, Jon Diament. With the Disney bubble closed to fans, Diament dives into what to expect from the at-home experience.
