Entain revealed it will reduce B2C activities within its Unikrn Esports Betting arm, as part of the repositioning its esports offerings.
Unikrn was acquired by the gambling giant in October 2021, as part of its strategy to grow their esports division. Entain relaunched Unikrn in December 2022, and announced plans to expand into more regulated countries around the globe.
Entain appears to have halted this initiative less than a year after its relaunch. Entain announced to iGB that they will reduce the direct-to consumer operations at Unikrn.
Entain explains: “This will ensure our business structure is as effective as possible so we can deliver our growth plan and strategy.”
Unikrn offers a leading esports betting product. “We see opportunities to leverage our global brands through these capabilities.”
Entain has not revealed any additional details regarding Unikrn or the future of this division.
Entain focuses on M&A
Entain completed its most recent acquisition in line with an ongoing M&A policy.
Entain acquired the sports forecasting, modelling and analytics specialists Angstrom Sports last week. Entain paid an initial PS81.0m for the deal, which is worth up to PS203.0m ($247.2m/EUR234.7m).
Entain has also recently acquired SuperSport, a sportsbook operator in Croatia. This purchase will be completed by the end 2022. Entain recently purchased Polish sportsbook operator STS Holding.
Entain, meanwhile, has approved a number of M&A bolt on deals including Angstrom, last week.
Entain acquired Tiidal Gaming NZ in June for CA$13.2m, the owner of Sportsflare, an esports gambling developer. It added betting products that were optimized for esports, alongside Unikrn.
Adam Greenblatt spoke with iGB earlier this year about the importance in the gambling industry of product and tech-focused deals.
