Unibet Sportsbook And Casino Expands To More Legal States
As more and more U.S. states go through the process of legalizing sports betting and online casino gambling, the number of European gambling operators coming to America continues to grow. One of those additions to the U.S. online gambling landscape is Unibet.
For a lot of American sports bettors and online casino enthusiasts, the Unibet brand might not ring any bells. In Europe, particularly the U.K., Unibet is a major playing in the gambling industry. Let’s take a look at the operator and see what they might have in store for American online gamblers.
About Unibet
Historically, Unibet was first introduced to the European gambling community in 1997. The legal company eventually morphed into the Kindred Group while maintaining the Unibet online sports betting and casino brand. Today, Kindred is one of the top online gambling operators in the world. Along with the Unibet brand, other popular brands include Maria Casino and 32Red.
In Europe, Unibet is licensed to provide gambling services by the Malta Gaming Authority. Given the size, strength, and reputation of both Unibet and the Kindred Group, it should be of no surprise that the bookmaker and online casino operator has crossed the pond to become an intricate part of the U.S. online gambling industry.
Legal States
As it turns out, getting that first toehold within the U.S. online gambling community is a big deal. It ensures that an operator will get fair access to licenses in as many states as they might want to provide services.
For Unibet, the first strike into the U.S. gambling community came when the operator’s parent company (Kindred Group) signed a partnership deal with the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City. That effectively made Unibet one of the very first online gambling providers in America. The deal was signed in August of 2018, just three months after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the nation’s ban on sports gambling.
If an online gambling operator can make it in New Jersey, they can pretty much make it anywhere. In January of 2019, Unibet followed up its presence in New Jersey by signing a partnership deal to provide the same online gambling services in Pennsylvania through the Mohegan Sun Pocono casino near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. By the way, the retail sportsbook at the Mohegan Sun Pocono casino became Unibet’s first retail sportsbook in the U.S.
Effectively, this gave Unibet a place at the online gambling table in the first two U.S. states to legalize both sports betting and online gambling. In the 2 1/2 years since signing in Pennsylvania, Unibet has added Indiana (2020) and Virginia (2021).
Unibet Iowa and Arizona
Unibet has now announced that they will be launching in Iowa on August 17th. Furthermore, they will be launching in Arizona mid-to-end of September. It doesn’t look like they plan on slowing down their expansion anytime soon either.
Currently, online gambling operator licenses are available in Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana and Michigan. It’s a sure bet that Unibet is putting forth proposals to secure licenses in those states. They are also working diligently to secure marketing deals with major U.S. sports leagues and sports franchises.
About the Unibet Online Sportsbook and Casino
As everyone would expect, Unibet is offering its bettors access to all of the relevant sports betting markets in the world. From the U.S., that includes wagering on the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, WNBA, NASCAR, and PGA Golf.
As far as betting options, sports bettors can enjoy betting straight bets with point spreads or money lines when applicable, parlays, teasers, live in-game wagering, prop bets, and futures odds betting. The betting limits offered by Unibet seem on par with the rest of the competition in each state.
The online casino features a nice selection of video slots and table games. The list of software providers for the online casino platform includes NextGen Gaming, Amaya (Chartwell), Bally, IGT (WagerWorks), NetEnt, and live dealer games from Evolution Gaming.
If there is one knock against Unibet, it would be the bookmaker’s lack of focus on offering good bonus opportunities for its existing customer. While the welcome offer seems competitive enough, they just don’t offer much else beyond that. It will be interesting to see if the operator steps up its efforts in this area.
Still, Unibet has a solid reputation, something that should matter to prospective online gamblers in every state.