Established in 1997, Unibet has been a premier destination for internet gamblers and online poker players – especially those in the United Kingdom – for a very long time. With multiple awards under its belt, Unibet has received the ultimate recognition of its industrial peers, having been chosen as the lead sponsor for the 2014 British Poker Awards, set to occur later this year.
The award ceremony celebrates the top live and online poker players in the UK, as well as associated groups, like poker leagues, training websites, card rooms and tournament directors. Voting for the British Poker Awards was opened to the public last month, and is still ongoing. A date for the award ceremony has not yet been set, but Unibet is gearing up with fervor.
OnlinePokerRealMoney.co.uk tries to dispel some legal confusions stemming from passage of George Bush's UIGEA of 2006 . Federal status seems to depend on interpretation of the wire act and other laws which were crafted many years ago and which remained high level in nature. The United Kingdom has much clearer laws including their own real money gambling commission .
“We’re genuinely delighted to have the chance to sponsor the British Poker Awards,” remarked a highly enthused Martin Satrlos, the Head of Poker for the esteemed online gambling operator. “The UK is our fastest growing market and being a London-based company, it is a great opportunity for Unibet to get more involved in UK poker.”
The online poker room shared its player base with the popular MPN (Microgaming Poker Network) for years, but chose to sever its ties with the network earlier this year in favor of a proprietary software launch. The online poker room is now geared towards recreational players only, and it’s turned out to be a relatively successful endeavor for the London group. According to PokerScout, prior to Unibet’s exit from the network, MPN was averaging just under 800 players at any given time. Presently, MPN attracts 600 players to the tables, while Unibet has already surged up to 475.
The crown jewel of the online poker room is its Unibet Open. Hosted in London at the Aspers Casino in Stratford, the Unibet Open is now preparing to celebrate its 30th rendition. The 4-day, multi-event series begins on November 27, 2014 with an interesting line-up of events that includes Open Face Chinese Poker, a Live Betting Championship, Casino Challenge and a brand new addition to the Unibet Open, a Slots Challenge.
Having been away from London for two years now, Unibet is celebrating their long-awaited return – and 30th edition of the series – by upping the seat cap to 500 and the GTD prize to €250,000. The last time the series came to London was in September of 2012, where a field of 315 coughed up the €1,100 buy-in to participate. UK poker pro Pratik Ghatge went on to win the event, taking home the top prize of £80,050 after rallying back from a crippling chip deficit at the final table to eventually defeat Tomasz Kozub (2nd place, £60,500) in an hour long heads-up battle.
Members of the online poker room can take part in a multitude of satellite tournaments of all shapes and sizes for a shot at winning a complete prize package into the Unibet Poker Open Main Event. Prize packages are valued at €2,000, and include the €1,100 buy-in, 4-nights accommodations, daily breakfast and dinner during the tournament as well as €250 in cash to cover travel expenses.