Unikrn Founder Says Blockchain Can Help Prevent Betting Fraud
Published: Jan 16, 2020 - Last Updated: Oct 10, 2022
Esports betting platform Unikrn’s founder Rahul Sood spoke at G2E Vegas about blockchain technology and its benefits to the gambling industry.
Speaking with Calvin Ayre’s Becky Liggero Fontana Sood, says with blockchain it’s “very easy to sort of block fraud,” adding:
“It’s easy to do things like AML and KYC properly. For a gambling business of the future, this is really where things will get the best usage of blockchain.”
Unikrn has a betting license from the Isle of Man for live esports and streamer betting with both cryptocurrency and fiat currency. Sood explains why it took so long to get what is a very unique license in the space:
“It took us a year because they wanted to learn a little bit about how we audit, they wanted to audit our blockchain and just see how we handle things like AML (anti-money laundering) and KYC (know your customer), forensic wallet tracking, source of funds and things like that. It’s important to us because we know that this space, the crypto space, is very relevant to our audience.”
Unikrn is also using its blockchain token Unikoin Gold (UKG) to reward its users and for users to spend on the platform either in games and gambling or to buy games. Sood says it’s the “ultimate loyalty rewards program.”
Sood says he spoke with New Jersey, US, regulators this week saying they are “very supportive of esports betting,” but are still wary of cryptocurrencies. In a major move in the US, New Jersey allowed esports betting last year just in time for the League of Legends Worlds.
Sood believes that right now the biggest use case for cryptocurrency is “trading and speculation,” but that:
“That has to change. I think our platform is one of those sort of wave 2 platforms where there will be real consumer usage, because people are using it today, and they use it every day to bet with UKG.”
Unikrn’s betting and gaming platform is built on blockchain technology, back in 2017 Sood told Venturebeat that:
“KYC and AML controls are much better if you build a proper blockchain than they are with fiat currency. You can see people’s wallets and follow where things are going.”
He also believes that Unikrn is way ahead on the “cutting edge of esports and crypto,” and obviously believes in the combined potential of the gambling, gaming, and cryptocurrency sectors and the interest each and all have for younger generations. Sood says game developers who once didn’t want to talk about gambling now realise that it’s a new way to engage gamers especially as their age range rises. The founder also believes traditional sports are in decline.
Blockchain’s immutable distributed ledger technology can secure transactions and data so they cannot be tampered with. Combined with KYC and AML policies to give transparency of transaction owners as well as transactions, blockchain used correctly, as Sood says, can help to prevent fraud. The benefits for the gambling industry which sees billions of dollars change hands are clear in preventing money laundering and connections to illicit activities.
Not only is Unikrn taking advantage of blockchain’s potential for security but the company recognizes that tokenized rewards are set to play a key part in gaming’s future. And, that the massive potential of the esports industry gives the gambling sector a whole new consumer market.
Image courtesy of Unikrn
