Within a week of the Australian government banning online poker in Australia, eSports betting outlet Unikrn receives authority to open a book on Rocket League, a video game where you play football in futuristic vehicles
Dear Australian poker players,
Put down anything you may spit on the screen of your computer. If you are reading this on the phone make sure you are in a padded cell, so it doesn’t break when you hurl it.
In the same week the Australian government decided to ban online poker for no substantial reason, an eSports bookmaker called Unikrn received approval from the relevant authorities in Australia to allow people to gamble on the outcome of matches played in a video game called Rocket League.
Released in July 2015 on PlayStation 4, players have dubbed Rocket League soccer, but with rocket powered cars. It quickly became a bona fide eSport in Sep of that year with Major League Gaming (MLG) hosting the Pro Rocket League and the game developers Psyonix creating the Rocket League Championship Series in March 2016. The game flew out of the starting gates amassing 18 million unique users in the first year.
VoodooPC founder Raul Sood launched Unikrn in November 2014. Today, it stands as one of the most popular eSports only online bookmaker, and it only does business in Australia and the UK.
The news that punters can gamble on the outcome of Rocket League Championship Series matches has gone down like an Italian footballer in the penalty area at Psyonix. The VP of Publishing, Jeremy Dunham, reminding eSports enthusiasts via an interview with Gamespot that his company is ‘not affiliated with Unikrn,’ nor do they ‘support or endorse online betting’ on Rocket League fixtures.
We have some great news to share! We now offer odds on @RocketLeague! Place your bets on Season 3 of #RLCS today! ️https://t.co/LHFAkNA05G
— Unikrn (@UnikrnCo) March 21, 2017
Gamespot officials reached out to Rahul Sood for comment in response to Dunham’s quote, and he replied in an email:
“We are not in any way associated with the publishers of Rocket League. However, we love the game, and like other titles on our sportsbook, we create odds and content on the pro matches and their top tier tournaments.”
Qualifiers for the Rocket League Championship Season 3 have begun. The finals take place in May and the World Championships take place in June with the action streamed live on Twitch.
Start throwing your phones, now.
