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Messi’s Missing Crypto Millions
Poor old Lionel Messi. It’s not exactly going to plan on the pitch for him yet at PSG. And off it – well let’s say he’s not cracked the crypto game either.
In the summer he agreed to be paid part of his signing-on fee in his new club Paris Saint-Germain’s own fan token. With cryptocurrencies at the start of a record-breaking run, it looked like a sure-fire way for the world’s best footballer to make more millions.
But it hasn’t worked out that way, according to analysis from Cloudbet.com the world’s oldest crypto sportsbook.
Messi’s unexpected transfer from cash-strapped Barcelona was announced on 10th August. He signed up for free, in a move designed to get his huge million-dollar weekly wage off Barca’s books. League bosses were penalising them for their abject failure to keep the club’s deficit within permitted parameters.
The vastly wealthy PSG were so delighted to land the world’s biggest football star that they paid him an interesting signing-on fee.
Part of his “welcome pack”, they said, would be paid in cash as normal, but in a first for football, part of the fee would be gifted to him in PSG fan tokens.
Messi could be forgiven for looking kindly on PSG’s offer. The club’s token had almost tripled in value from the start of August to a record on the day of the Messi announcement.
Traders at Cloudbet took a deeper dive into the deal to assess how the Argentinian maestro’s signing-on fee is looking now.
On 10th August, the PSG token was valued at $49.83.
Media speculation across the continent suggests Lionel Messi was gifted one million euros worth of tokens. On that day the Euro-USD exchange rate was 1.17. So let’s estimate that PSG’s wealthy Qatar owners gave him $1.17m worth of tokens.
Trading at $49.83, this means Messi would have received 23,480 PSG tokens.
So how much money has Lionel Messi made from this deal? Well, as of today things aren’t looking terribly good. The PSG token recently traded at…. $19.02
That defeat by Man City hasn’t helped PSG or it’s cryptocoin’s value.
If Messi had received what is speculated to be one million euros in fan tokens on 10th August, his estimated 23,480 tokens would now be worth… $453,436
Which means if he cashed it in now it would only be worth 40% of what it was worth on the day that he signed for PSG!
American football stars like Aaron Rogers might be in the news for all the wrong reasons right now, but they’ve made headlines for being early adopters of Bitcoin salaries. If Messi had embraced BTC he’d be a lot richer.
Back on 10th August 2021, BTC was trading around $45,600.
And now? It’s at $58,000, a +25% rise. That $1.17m signing-on gift would now be around $1,460,000 – more than a million dollars more than the fee is worth in PSG tokens.

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Better Collective North American talent-led media brands surpass 1 billion views and downloads, providing new ways for partners to reach sports fans
An expanded focus on talent-led media and live events complements Better Collective’s broader strategy of diversifying revenue streams, engaging sports fans, and strengthening its position in key growth markets such as North America.
Talent-led media has become a core strategic focus for Better Collective, providing new ways to engage fans and create value for the company’s partners. Through shows hosted by world-class athletes and personalities such as Shaquille O’Neal, Jalen Brunson, Angel Reese, and Jeff Marek, Better Collective is able to reach highly engaged audiences across North America. These trusted voices not only help Better Collective stay relevant with younger sports fans but also offer partners authentic, direct access to these communities. Since the beginning of last year, content from Better Collective’s talent-led media brands have generated over one billion views and downloads and were significant contributors to the company’s global sponsorship revenue of more than 45 mEUR in 2024. Talent-led media has also further strengthened the commercial opportunities for partners and reinforces Better Collective’s position as a leading digital sports media group.
Karl Pugh, Group SVP of Revenue at Better Collective, said: “As a market leader operating at the intersection of sports media and sports betting, Better Collective provides partners with unparalleled global reach and commercial opportunities. Through our brands and their shows, we are not only reaching millions of engaged sports fans, but creating meaningful value for our partners by offering them direct access to these highly relevant audiences. With more than one billion views and downloads from fans across North America since the start of 2024, our brands have proven over time to be in high demand and an essential platform for partner activation. I look forward to continuing to grow these partnerships and unlocking new ways to drive revenue, audience engagement, and long-term business value together.”
All three of Better Collective’s leading North American brands, Playmaker HQ, Action Network and The Nation Network, have increased their audience with the help of talent-led media and live events.
- All five of Playmaker HQ’s shows have crossed 2 million total followers on social media, total over 15 million hours of consumed content on YouTube, and average 75 million monthly views across all accounts. The shows have gone viral several times, such as when Unapologetically Angel was named one of Spotify’s best new podcasts of 2024.
- Action Network’s content from leading betting experts has spurred growth as well, evident from its 600k+ hours of consumed content from fans this year. Additionally, the brand’s podcasts totalled 6 million downloads during the last NFL season, and will total 8 million total downloads in 2025.
- Within Canada, Better Collective has also experienced growth among its users thanks to The Nation Network (TNN), which has firmly entrenched itself as the leading destination for premier, digital sports coverage. Across its content this past year, TNN saw 71 million total streams, 5 million total watch hours, and 342 million total impressions on YouTube. These numbers reinforce Better Collective’s belief in Canada as a massive growth opportunity and market with immense potential.
North American brands are providing additional avenues for partner success
These three North American-based brands have each contributed to the company’s rise in the talent-led media space, growth in audience, and value generated for both endemic and non-endemic partners. Across the three brands, leading consumer and sportsbook partners include StockX, Dove Men’s+Care, Tommy John, DraftKings, bet365, Ford, Tim Hortons, Coca-Cola and Budweiser, exemplifying the value Better Collective offers its wide variety of partners in reaching new audiences in modern, engaging ways. These partners are not only getting value out of sponsoring podcast episodes, but also by helping create live activations that form deeper connections and more awareness among fans and potential consumers. Listeners and fans are also highly engaged with each brand’s content, leading to elevated brand exposure, increased content consumption, and higher turnouts at events. Examples of this can be seen with Action Network’s over 75% completion rate of its podcasts – above the average industry standard – as well as Playmaker HQ and TNN’s attendance at their live events, showing not only that fans have an appetite for the content, but that partners will get more exposure through their sponsorships and branded activations.
Live events have given our brands more ways to engage audiences
In addition to the popular podcast shows, Playmaker HQ, Action Network, and The Nation Network are all using their strong brand platforms to host live events. These include meet and greets, live shows, watch parties, and fan experiences that bring audiences closer to their favorite shows and stars. A standout example was last year’s live Roommates Show in Central Park, where thousands of fans gathered to meet Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, enjoyed the show, and took part in branded experiences and giveaways from partners.
These events not only deepen fan engagement but also offer partners unique opportunities to connect with audiences beyond digital channels. Previous events have been held in major cities during some of the biggest sporting moments of the year, including the Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Final Four, and the 4 Nations Face Off. Throughout the rest of the year, our brands will continue to host exciting events for fans and partners alike, including the upcoming NBA Summer League.
The post Better Collective North American talent-led media brands surpass 1 billion views and downloads, providing new ways for partners to reach sports fans appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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iGB L!VE opens in London
The 2025 edition of iGB L!VE opened today (2nd July) at it’s new ExCeL London home. iGaming professionals made full use of ExCeL London’s transport infrastructure with Elizabeth Line and Docklands Light Railway trains full of visitors celebrating the show’s relocation to the Capital.
Organisers are seeking to grow the iGB L!VE attendance and, in the process set another record for the event. The 2024 edition, which was the last to be held in Amsterdam attracted 9,788 unique attendees, surpassing the 7,299 at iGB L!VE 2023 and was nearly double the 5,022 at iGB L!VE 2022. The 2025 edition of iGB L!VE will be the biggest on record, providing attendees with access to over 22,000 sqm of product innovation and inspiration.
Claire Williams OBE, the former leader of the Williams Formula 1 racing team and one of the most prominent and successful women in F1 history provided the iGB L!VE 2025 keynote.
Exploring the best practice parallels which can be drawn between the data-driven worlds of F1 and iGaming, Claire Williams noted: “There are a number of ways that Formula 1 can inspire businesses and provide tangible takeaways for iGaming operators of all sizes, from product innovation to navigating entry into new markets. As well as key requirements such as having a dynamic leadership, a culture of continuous improvement, hiring the very best problem solvers and being the first to embrace technology advances, F1 also demands the organisational agility that’s necessary to nuance strategy in what is an ultra-competitive space. “
Described as the TED of iGaming, iGB L!VE features a mix of highly practical case studies, data presentations and panel discussions on best practices across operators and affiliates. Topics include innovations in in-play betting, how to use IP and branding to protect competitive advantage, integrated marketing and SEO strategies, how to build links when no one wants to talk about gambling, as well as market dives into LatAm, UAE and Italy. The full programme can be viewed at:https://www.igblive.com/event-schedule
The post iGB L!VE opens in London appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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THE BATTLE OF POLYTOPIA ANNOUNCES GLOBAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS WITH $10,000 PRIZE POOL
Midjiwan, the award-winning independent studio behind The Battle of Polytopia has today announced The Polytopia World Championship with a prize pool of $10,000 USD and a live final broadcast from Stockholm.
The Polytopia World Championship is set to launch this fall, uniting players from across the globe in an epic showdown of fast-paced strategic mastery. The tournament will be themed to Battle of the Tribes. Players will choose to compete with one of Polytopia’s 12 in-game tribes; each with a unique regional theme and skillset.
The tournament will begin with open qualifiers, giving everyone a chance to prove themselves. From there, players will advance through tribe-specific playoffs and head-to-head elimination rounds, each match bringing them one step closer to glory.
The top six players will earn a spot in the live finals in Stockholm on December 6: an in-person event streamed online for fans worldwide. In addition to live commentary of the tournament, the fan event will also provide behind-the-scenes content from the Midjiwan team.
The winner will be awarded a prize pool of $10,000; making this tournament the biggest competitive event in The Battle of Polytopia’s nine year history.
Christian Lovstedt, CEO of Midjiwan AB, commented: “This marks a major new step for Polytopia’s competitive scene, featuring a fresh tournament format and enhanced broadcasting that makes it even more exciting for viewers to watch, learn, and get inspired by the world’s top players.“
The matches will be played on the Polytopia Official Space on the Challengermode esports Platform.
The planned dates are:
September:
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Sep 13–14
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Sep 20–21
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Sep 27–28
October:
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Oct 4–5
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Oct 11–12
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Oct 18–19
November:
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Oct 25–26
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Nov 1–2
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Nov 8–9
Nov 22–23
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Faceoff
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Final Qualifier
Dec 6
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World Championship Live Event
The post THE BATTLE OF POLYTOPIA ANNOUNCES GLOBAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS WITH $10,000 PRIZE POOL appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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