Unibet Poker Signs New Ambassadors in a Bid to Improve Online Presence

February 22nd, 2017 | by Jason Reynolds

Unibet Poker has drafted in three Irish pros with a strong social media presence to help increase its marketing potential across Europe.

Unibet Poker signs three new ambassadors, including Ian Simpson, in a bid to enhance its online presence. (Image: unibetpokerblog.fr)

Dara O’Kearney, David Lappin and 2013 Irish Open Main Event winner Ian Simpson have all joined the Unibet bandwagon ahead of the operators latest live event in the UK.

With the Unibet Open London set to take place between February 23 and February 26 inside the city’s Grosvenor Casino, the poker site took the opportunity to unveil its latest pro signings.

With Relax Gaming, the software provider for Unibet Poker, recently winning an award for its fun-focus platform, the operator has doubled down on its focus on casual players with its trio of ambassadors.

Of the three, O’Kearney is particularly active on social media and has a blog that dates back to 2011.

Pros Join Gamers for Special Event

The first call of duty for the new ambassadors will be a date with Viktor Blom. The high stakes online pro, otherwise known as Isildur1, was drafted in to take part in a special Sit & Go between members of Team Unibet.

As much of a spectator event as a quest to find the best one table tournament player, the event was held alongside a Unibet organized eSports tournament.

Streamed live via Twitch on February 22, the “eSports Battle Royale IV” was a chance for a group of professional gamers to take on Blom in a one-table, £5,000 ($6,200) top prize poker tournament. Throughout the stream, viewers were given a chance to participate in prop bets and win prizes while gamers such as James Bardolph and Fabien Fiey tried to outwit Blom.

The latest moves by Unibet Poker suggest the operator is working to bring more online gamers and social media users into poker. By combining eSports/poker events with a trio of pros offering a strong online presence, Unibet appears to be forging links with industries offering a similar form of entertainment.

Unibet Continues Its Move Towards Casual Gaming

This strategy is one that other online poker operators are also adopting. With poker previously at a plateau, major poker sites have gradually adjusted their products and marketing to focus on new demographics.

Unibet Poker has been championing this strategy ever since it moved from the Microgaming Poker Network to its own standalone product in 2014.

With the help of Relax Gaming’s software, the operator launched Unibet Poker 2.0 which removed the possibility for stats tracking and increased the number of so-called “gamification” elements.

Since then Unibet has focused more on entertainment and it seems the signing of Simpson, O’Kearney and Lappin is another part of this long-term strategy.