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Exclusive interview with Rahul Sood, CEO and co-founder of Unikrn
Reading Time: 6 minutes
Rahul Sood is the CEO and co-founder of Unikrn, the world’s leading esportsbook innovator. He started his first company, the world’s first boutique PC manufacturer, is his teens and later sold it to HP. After leaving HP, he joined Microsoft as the founder and CEO or the startup incubation branch then-called Microsoft Ventures. Rahul is a long-time avid gamer and esports fan who also enjoys windsurfing in his spare time.
You mentioned about two “game-changing” products from Unikrn in your email. Could you tell us more about the products?
Rahul Sood: We have 3 singular experiences launching at Unikrn: Unikrn UMode, Unikrn Virtual Game and Unikrn Esportsbook’s Streamer Betting.
Unikrn UMode is the first online skill betting extension for matchmaking games such as Fortnite, League of Legends, Dota 2, Halo and Counter-Strike. Unlike peer-to-peer betting, UMode lets players bet on their normal online matchmaking without betting opponents because Unikrn sets the odds, which lets you bet anytime in fair games without any worries about sharks ruining your fun.
The Unikrn Virtual Game is a curated collection of exciting professional esports matches from the past which are randomly selected and played fresh. There’s a new round every minute, and fans can go to bet on esports without ever facing delays or content gaps, which is an amazing quality-of-life improvement for esports fans used to waiting between rounds, games and tournaments.
Unikrn’s Streamer Betting uses in-house odds-determining trader bots and advanced screen-reading technology to interpret games happening on stream and set odds in real time, even updating odds as matches advance. We’re excited for how this will let fans play along with streamers and improve the community thrill of wins. After all, betting is better as a social experience, and very little in gaming is more social than streaming in its prime!
How do you think these products would change the way the betting industry operates?
Rahul Sood: The betting industry is still behind the curve on the way esports opens interactivity, data fidelity and sheer volume. There’s never been a challenge in sports akin to trying to place reliable odds on streamers. There’s YEARS of content hours consumed from Twitch every second across thousands of channels. Besides Unikrn, the world of betting operators hasn’t begun to scratch the surface of what gamers and esports fans are making possible, whether that’s creating 24/7 skill-based betting, new ways to package esports around the clock or ways to bring people together to cheer on their favorite players.
You are aiming to introduce innovative technologies to betting that would disrupt the dominance of traditional booking houses. In fact, quite a few new companies have aimed to do this, and almost all of them have failed. What is the x-factor for your company, if there is any?
Rahul Sood: Unikrn is x-factor from surface to core. I think the biggest difference is our culture, Unikrn sits at the intersection of esports & video games, blockchain & cryptocurrency, and regulated gambling. As such we employ talented people from all over the world. Our COO, CFO, and CPO along with lead product people are based in Sydney. Our CTO and development teams are in Berlin, Croatia, and Poland. Head of Marketing and Content are in New York, we have content people in Las Vegas, and I’m in Seattle with our Chief of Staff. There’s no way in hell we could build such a company in one city, we required the best talent in all 3 areas. Unikrn is also a technology first company, whereas typical wagering companies are simply licensing software from other platforms.
Maybe most importantly, this isn’t hypothetical: Unikrn is launching multiple singular experiences designed for customers. While others are building wagering experiences around old titles that no one cares about, Unikrn is building wagering experiences around games people love to play. Our products are live and regulator-approved well ahead of our runway, and they’re being followed by many other innovations.
It’s almost two years since you launched your cryptocurrency token UnikoinGold, based on the Ethereum blockchain. Could you tell us more about its performance so far?
Rahul Sood: UnikoinGold has been a fantastic success, achieving everything it was set out to do and hitting most of its projected benchmarks at or ahead of schedule. The whole point of developing UnikoinGold was to give users the ability to use our platform and partner platforms without the delays and fees associated with using traditional banks. At its launch, UnikoinGold closed the largest-ever token sale in esports and gaming, and our partners have included major players in the crypto space because they’re impressed with the unprecedented utility UnikoinGold has brought to the broader crypto ecosystem. I think our biggest challenge is making our crypto more accessible and easier to use. We’re working hard on this, it’s one of the key pillars for 2019.
Unikrn is into its fifth year. The company has received excellent funding and financial back-up. But has the company really captured the public imagination as an esports venture? How do you look back at the last five years of Unikrn?
Rahul Sood: Unikrn is fortunate to have had several extremely successful acquisitions, partnerships and blockchain ventures — the truth is there’s a staggering and publicly invisible business-to-business problem solving portion of our operations. This is common in successful companies in the tech sector: Amazon, for example, makes more of its money on web services than any other division, but it’s a part of the company the public basically never sees.
Everybody at this company is proud of our success and our current place in the ecosystem, as well as optimistic about the future all the way to the horizon.
Being a legal and responsible operator requires diligence and time (working with regulators, governments, patent offices, partners and taking the time to develop proprietary technology can’t be rushed!). Our current user base has been completely won-over, and the next step is broader engagement with new fans.
So are we where we want to be? Of course not, we’ll never truly be satisfied, but believe me Unikrn of 2019 is far ahead of the Unikrn from 2014. We have plenty of work to do and lots of runway to get to where we’re going.
The USA is witnessing a revolution of sorts in the sports betting sector, following the US Supreme Court’s verdict on PASPA Act. What is your take on the future of sports betting in the USA and the role of Unikrn on it?
Rahul Sood: Unikrn is already live with Unikrn UMode in the majority of the United States, making us pretty much first in the door, and we are obviously supportive of states allowing responsible, regulated wagering to expand. Unikrn has well-established connections with land based casinos in Las Vegas, where our primary content team is based, and we expect the United States to be a growing market for us looking forward. I fully expect us to launch our sportsbook across the USA in partnership with some of the largest casino operators in the world.
You had held top positions at HP and Microsoft before founding Unikrn. How different are the mainstream software companies and the gaming and betting companies in terms of challenges, job profile and working environment?
Rahul Sood: Every job is different, but wagering companies bring with them an enormous responsibility to work in partnership with regulators and governments. This happens in any industry, but wagering rightfully brings it to another level. That said, there’s also a tremendous amount of crossover: software and gaming hardware companies are ultimately selling consumers an experience, and that’s exactly what Unikrn does.
We’re sitting at the intersection of three of the most blockbuster industries on earth, regulated gambling, esports & video games, and blockchain & cryptocurrency. It’s never easy, but nothing good comes without hard work.
You have been a serial entrepreneur, having started entrepreneurship from an unusually young age. You have also worked with a number of startups while you were a General Manager at Microsoft Ventures. What is the one thing that separates successful startups from the failures? And what is your advice to startup founders and wannabe founders?
Rahul Sood: Great startups understand that a brand is nothing without 4 key components. An incredible product that people love, a strong team culture made of the smartest and most talented people who eat breath and sleep your mission, a thriving community of fans and evangelists, and most of all strong leadership and patience. All of these components become the foundation of your brand, which if applied correctly becomes a living breathing entity. Most people miss the community part, can you imagine Telsa, OnePlus, or Apple without a community? They’d be like nowhere!
Finally, on a lighter note, it is written on your Wikipedia page that “Sood first took an interest in computers at the age of 11, having disassembled and painted his first computer—an Apple IIc—before even turning it on”. Did it really happen? And did you disassemble your first gaming device as well!? Do share an interesting anecdote to conclude the interview.
Rahul Sood: It absolutely happened, and I had successfully founded my boutique computer manufacturer, VoodooPC, just a few years later. I went on to sell that brand to HP. I guess everything that I’ve ever involved myself with is something I truly care about, for without that I don’t think I’d be anywhere near where I am today.
Source: Latest News on European Gaming Media Network
This is a Syndicated News piece. Photo credits or photo sources can be found on the source article: Exclusive interview with Rahul Sood, CEO and co-founder of Unikrn
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- The 2025 PUBG MOBILE Global Championship (PMGC) Group Stage concluded yesterday, with six teams qualifying for the Grand Finals after an intense run of clashes
- Alpha Gaming dominated in Group Green, while DRX were at the top of the leaderboard for Group Red
- Sixteen teams from the Group Stage will now battle their way through the Last Chance Stage, where they’ll fight to secure a coveted spot in the Grand Finals
- With three slots left for the Grand Finals in Bangkok, time is running out for the remaining teams to vie for a share of the $3M prize pool
The Group Stage of the 2025 PUBG MOBILE Global Championship (PMGC) has come to a thrilling close, following six days of high-stakes competition. The top three teams from Group Green and Group Red have earned a one-way ticket to the Grand Finals, whilst the remaining 16 teams that ranked 4th – 11th from both groups are set to contend in the Last Chance Stage taking place from December 6th – 7th, in a final push for survival. With $3,000,000 up for grabs, the winning team at the Grand Finals in Bangkok will claim the lion’s share of the prize pool, along with the coveted title, making every match a battle for glory.
Day one of the Group Stage began with Group Green, kicking off with Inner Circle Esports making a strong statement with an early chicken dinner and an incredible 18 eliminations, setting the pace for the group. Day two saw continued strong performances from Alpha Gaming, Alter Ego, and Team GOAT, taking the top three spots respectively. On day three, Alpha Gaming demonstrated consistency throughout the day, with a 12-elimination victory providing a solid boost, allowing them to end the day in the top spot with 174 points. At the end of the Group Green matches, Alpha Gaming, Dplus, and Team GOAT secured their spot to advance directly to the Grand Finals, leaving the mid-pack teams to fight for survival in the Last Chance Stage.
Group Red matched the intensity, delivering three days of high-stakes matches and tactical play. Day one began with EArena from Thailand taking an early win with 65 points and one Chicken Dinner, signaling their intent to remain top of the rank. Day two featured unexpected twists, with Regnum Carya and Team Flash executing key plays to climb the leaderboard. Maintaining their status, South Korea’s DRX locked in a top-three finish on day three with five Chicken Dinners, joined by Regnum Carya and EArena, clinching direct passage to the Grand Finals.
The Last Chance stage of the 2025 PMGC will see 16 teams, made up of those that placed 4th – 11th from both groups of the Group Stage, go head-to-head in twelve points-based matches over two days. The top two teams in the final standings will secure the remaining slots in the Grand Finals, while the other 14 teams will be eliminated from the tournament. Every match will put everything on the line as teams battle for a final shot to contend in the most prestigious PUBG MOBILE Esports tournament of the year.
Teams heading to the Last Chance Stage:
- Team Flash
- Weibo Gaming
- Influence Rage
- Arcred
- Burmese Ghouls
- Alliance
- Geekay Esports
- Boars Gaming
- Wolves Esports
- Inner Circle
- Team Gen G
- Loops Esports
- Alter Ego
- Team Falcons
- Papara Supermassive
- Team 9ZG
2025 PMGC Key Dates
- PMGC Last Chance (December 6th – 7th)
- PMGC Grand Finals (December 12th – 14th)
As the pinnacle of the competitive season, the 2025 PMGC in Bangkok stands as the ultimate proving ground for the world’s top PUBG MOBILE Esports teams. This year marks a new chapter for the scene, uniting the 2025 PMGC with the 2025 PUBG Global Championship (PGC) under the groundbreaking banner of PUBG UNITED 2025. By ending the year with its most prestigious event, PUBG MOBILE Esports not only celebrates the year’s finest talent, but also sets a forward-looking momentum that will shape the competitive landscape of the year ahead.
For more information on the 2025 PMGC, fans can keep up to date on PUBG MOBILE Esports’ YouTube, Facebook and Twitch channels. For more PUBG MOBILE Esports news, stay tuned on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, and TikTok.
The post THE 2025 PUBG MOBILE GLOBAL CHAMPIONSHIP GROUP STAGE WRAPS UP WITH LAST CHANCE IN SIGHT appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
PayRamnt-weight: 400;”> has launched its private stablecoin payment gateway for iGaming operators, gaming platforms, and affiliates that require fast, borderless, and censorship-resistant payments.
Built on the belief that payments should operate as freely as the internet itself, PayRam delivers decentralized PayFi infrastructure that allows iGaming businesses to accept and manage stablecoin payments through fully self-hosted infrastructure. Operators no longer rely on banks, custodians, or centralized processors to control their revenue.
In an industry plagued by frozen balances, chargebacks, delayed settlements, and compliance shutdowns, PayRam gives operators direct control over funds, payouts, and transaction infrastructure. Platforms retain ownership of their payment flow without platform risk. Operators can now accept private stablecoin deposits, launch without intermediaries, and expand globally on their own terms.
Stablecoins Are the Future of Global iGaming Payments
Stablecoins now drive the most significant transformation in payments in decades. With a market capitalization exceeding $300 billion, stablecoins now function as real-world settlement infrastructure rather than speculative assets. For iGaming businesses that operate across borders, stablecoins deliver instant payouts, low transaction costs, and continuous global liquidity.
Governments also continue to formalize regulatory frameworks. Initiatives such as the GENIUS Bill in the United States signal that stablecoins will soon function as foundational financial infrastructure for both traditional commerce and emerging agent-driven economies.
Yet most existing stablecoin fiat gateways still copy legacy banking structures. They custodian funds, over-monitor transactions, delay settlements, and restrict high-risk industries such as iGaming. Operators continue to face frozen balances, withheld profits, and sudden account closures.
Instead of decentralizing commerce, centralized processors reintroduce single points of failure. They strip merchants of privacy, predictability, and true ownership of funds.
PayRam removes these bottlenecks by allowing iGaming operators to deploy and operate their own self-hosted stablecoin payment nodes. This sovereign infrastructure restores payment autonomy, protects funds from blacklisting, enables private deposits, and eliminates third-party revenue risk.
Permissionless Commerce Underpinned By Privacy
PayRam embodies a mission to decentralize the global payments ecosystem. Its founder, Siddharth Menon, who previously co-founded WazirX, India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, helped bring crypto to more than 15 million users. Today, he’s channeling that experience into building a decentralized PayFi layer engineered for privacy, autonomy, and self-custody.
“The future of payments is decentralized stablecoin payments. As the world moves beyond custodial systems, PayRam is building the foundation for permissionless commerce, where every merchant, creator, or platform can host and own their own payment infrastructure,” said Siddharth Menon, Founder of PayRam. “Just as Uniswap reimagined trading through decentralization, PayRam is reimagining how money moves across the internet.”
iGaming Operators Go Live in Minutes and Expand Into Underserved Regions
PayRam removes all onboarding friction. Operators need no approvals, no vetting, and no centralized onboarding process. Any business can deploy PayRam, configure it, and begin processing private stablecoin payments within 10 minutes.
This instant deployment allows operators to enter underserved and payment-restricted regions, unlock new player bases, and launch real-money gaming operations without waiting on banks, payment processors, or jurisdictional approvals.
PayRam is built as a merchant-first ecosystem, offering advanced accounting analytics, scalable APIs, and automated payments orchestration tools. It also arrives with integrated growth tools like referral and payout systems. Merchants and individuals can issue payment requests, share unique payment links, and monitor transactions through programmable APIs, all operated on infrastructure that users self-host and fully control. The built-in SmartSweep feature uses a family of smart contracts to move funds securely and periodically, eliminating the need to store private keys on servers.
PayRam supports stablecoin and cryptocurrency payments across major networks including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Base, and Tron, with integrations for Polygon, BNB Smart Chain, Solana, Ripple, Monero, and TON next in line.
“We’ve used several crypto payment providers over the years, including BTCPay Server, NOWPayments, and others, but PayRam stands out as truly open and built for the modern internet economy. It gives us full control over our payments and funds, along with stablecoin support, privacy, multi-chain flexibility, and faster global settlements,” said an iGaming operator using PayRam.
PayRam Prepares to Support Agentic Betting With Privacy and Automation
Agentic betting represents the next evolution of iGaming, where autonomous software agents will place bets, execute strategies, manage bankrolls, and settle wagers in real time without human intervention. These systems already power algorithmic trading in financial markets, and iGaming infrastructure now begins to move in the same direction.
Most existing betting and payment infrastructure cannot support this shift. Centralized processors expose transaction logic, restrict automated flows, and introduce settlement delays that break agent-driven wagering models at scale.
PayRam is actively adopting the foundational standards and infrastructure required to support agentic betting in the future. The platform is positioning itself as a privacy-first, decentralized payment layer that will allow autonomous betting systems to operate with:
- Private stablecoin deposits
- Real-time settlement logic
- Automated treasury and bankroll flows
- Programmable payout execution
- Full self-custody and non-custodial risk isolation
By preparing to adopt open standards such as x402 and ERC-8004, PayRam aims to support interoperable and intelligent payment flows between autonomous betting systems, sportsbooks, and gaming platforms when the agentic wagering ecosystem reaches production maturity.
Through this approach, PayRam is building the foundation for a future where payments are private, programmable, and permissionless.
About PayRam
PayRam is the world’s first self-hosted private stablecoin processor, giving merchants and individuals complete control over their payments stack. Built for the next era of permissionless commerce, it merges stablecoin payments with self-hosted infrastructure to enable borderless, censorship-resistant transactions.
Reading Time: 5 minutes
Here are this weeks latest slots releases compiled by European Gaming
BGaming gets in the festive spirit with a Christmas take on its acclaimed casual hit, Aviamasters, with Aviamasters X-Mas. Santa and his sleigh replace the plane from the original title, with players watching as he flies through the air, collecting festive multipliers before hopefully landing on an ice floe to collect his prizes.
Stakelogic is spreading festive cheer this December with the release of Big Sugar Bonanza Xmas, a delicious sequel of the candy-coated hit, Big Sugar Bonanza. Launching on 1st December 2025, the new game transforms the Fluffkins’ sugary kingdom into a winter wonderland of treats and turbo-charged multipliers.
Million Games is bringing festive mayhem to the iGaming world with the launch of Rudolph’s Gone Rogue, a fast-paced Christmas slot where Santa’s most famous reindeer takes centre stage in a runaway holiday adventure. In this 5×3, 20-payline slot, Rudolph bolts into the night sky, dragging the rest of the herd with him and leaving a trail of chaos in his wake.
Spinomenal has unwrapped its new title Majestic Santa, signalling the start of the festive season. Spinomenal’s festive-inspired treat is a 5×3 slot that is bursting with Christmas imagery including red stockings, gingerbread men, and glistening golden bells.
Evoplay has launched Mega Greatest Catch: Blue Marlin, bringing the fearless fisherman Harry back to sea for his most exciting adventure yet. The latest instalment transports players to bright turquoise waters, where random scatters can trigger free spins, wilds appear unexpectedly, and the scatter respin feature offers a welcome second chance to enter the round.
Looking to unwrap longer sessions, stronger engagement and bigger revenues this Christmas? ICONIC21, in-demand iGaming content provider, just launched Sweet Royale Xmas ahead of the holiday season. Sweet Royale is one of the provider’s most popular slots to date and now returns in a Christmas edition decked with boughs of candy to allow operators to leverage the rise in slotting activity during the festive period.
Meet Nolimit City’s latest Crazy Ex-Girlfriend…the kind ex who would “accidentally” like your 2014 selfie at 3am and has a little voodoo doll named after you. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has mapped out your every move and runs through a 2-4-4-4-4-2 layout across 6 reels.
It’s the most magical time of the year, but don’t expect a peaceful Christmas with the release of Realistic Games’ latest blockbuster slot, Wreckmas. The new 5×3, feature-packed slot brings toppled trees, tangled tinsel and chaotic carols to a family Christmas, along with the chance to hit a 5,000x max win.
Players can jingle their way to jackpot joy in Christmas MegapotsTM from Big Time Gaming. This festive slot brings Big Time Gaming’s legendary Megapots mechanic to life with seasonal sparkle, giving players the chance to unwrap Mini, Midi or Mega Jackpots with each spin.
Players are being commanded to raise the sails and brace themselves for a high seas adventure like no other in Captain WinBreaker, the latest swashbuckling slot from Northern Lights Gaming. This pirate-themed slot sees players take the helm of a ship bound for treasures and untold riches.
Amusnet has released 20 Burning Hot Buy Bonus, a sizzling twist on the classic fruit slot. Set across 5 reels and 3 lines, this game combines familiar symbols with modern mechanics for fast-paced spins, vibrant visuals and nonstop excitement.
SlotMatrix is embracing the holiday season with Santa’s Golden Christmas, a sparkling new slot packed with festive cheer, golden prizes, and heart-warming holiday magic. Set in a winter wonderland, the game brings players closer to the jolly gift-giver.
Inspired Entertainment, Inc. is thrilled to announce the exclusive launch of its brand-new, bespoke slot game, Spin O’Reely Grand Chance, in collaboration with long time partners bet365. Expanding bet365’s popular exclusive Irish-themed Spin O’Reely game series, the game will initially be available to players in the UK, Ontario, and New Jersey, with more markets to follow soon.
Play’n GO pits sun god Ra against serpent deity Apophis in Ra’s Reckoning, a mythic grid slot inspired by the celestial battles of ancient Egypt. Ra’s Reckoning brings players face to face with an age-old mythic struggle – the eternal duel between light and chaos.
Playson has unleashed a whirlwind of excitement with Tornado Power: Hold and Win, introducing a new Tornado Feature and enhanced payouts. The 3×4, 10 payline slot features immersive visuals with old-school charm, as the untamed gameplay is further enhanced by a new Tornado Feature
ELA Games announces the release of its latest title, Joker Jam, a bold visual addition to the studio’s growing portfolio of strategic yet aesthetic games. Set under the neon glow of a vibrant city, Joker Jam reimagines the classic Vegas aesthetic into a thrilling experience.
Just Slots has announced the exclusive launch of its newest title, Dynamo’s Show, available on Gamdom and Stake. A full network release will follow on 11 December 2025. This vibrant new slot transforms the classic Hold & Collect experience into a full theatrical performance
Spinomenal is celebrating the holiday season by inviting players for a festive journey with The North Star Express – Hold & Hit 3×3. Unfolding against a wintry backdrop, North Star Express arrives to present a fun, festive adventure as players race through snowy forests.
Belatra Games, the specialist online slots developer, has rolled out the red carpet to the Frozen Barrel Tavern to celebrate the festive season. Players are warmly welcomed into a cosy winter tavern that radiates holiday cheer and buzzes with Christmas chatter.
The post Week 49/2025 slot games releases appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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