Latest News
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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BGaming
Weekend Reels | Week 29: Slot Drops & Trends
Here are this weeks latest slots releases compiled by Eastern European Gaming
EveryMatrix-owned studio Fantasma Games has launched Bonus Bullets, expanding EveryMatrix’s exclusive games portfolio with a new three-reel slot featuring modern bonus mechanics. The game introduces a Bullet Prize mechanic that awards instant cash prizes or one of four jackpots when Bullet symbols align across all three reels.

High 5 Games is marking the 25th anniversary of its Green Machine franchise with a new title, Green Machine Blitz. The company said the game will include a “fast-paced duplication mechanic,” activated collection features, four jackpots, and a LootLink bonus. According to High 5 Games, special symbols can duplicate across the reels to create chain reactions.

BGaming has launched The Godfather: 3 Pillars of Power, a new slot title built on The Godfather film franchise. According to the supplier, the game includes the likeness of Vito Corleone, portrayed by Marlon Brando, alongside the film’s voice and musical score.

Evoplay has launched Flame of Ra, a new ancient Egypt-themed online slot featuring scatter-triggered free spins and a bonus buy option. The game is played on a 5×4 grid. Wild symbols substitute for all regular symbols, while landing three or more scatter symbols anywhere on the reels activates the free spins feature.

Playson has launched 4 Chili Pots: Hold and Win, a new slot built around Hold and Win and Pots mechanics with two bonus modes and jackpots reaching 10,000x. The game runs on a 5×3 grid and triggers a Hold and Win Bonus Game with Chili Features when red, orange or green Chili Bonus symbols land, combining with enlarged matching chilis above the reels

Blueprint Gaming has released a new slot, Wolf Fury Fire Blitz, built around an “evolving Fire Blitz mechanic” and two bonus paths: Fire Spins and Blitz Spins. The game uses a Fire Blitz logo above the reels as a meter. In the base game and Power Play, the supplier said every Cash and Wolf symbol contributes to the meter, with boosts able to add extra symbols.

Wazdan has launched 16 Coins Betsson, a bespoke branded version of its 16 Coins
title, in partnership with Betsson. The release adapts Wazdan’s Coins
series format for Betsson players, combining the original game’s mechanics with operator-specific branding. The game is played across 16 independent reels in a 4×4 layout.

Booming Games has launched Tasty Bonanza Max Scatter, a new online slot released on 16 July 2026 from the supplier’s Malta base. The title is the second game in its Max Scatter series and uses a 6×4 grid with Scatter Pays, cascading wins and a stated maximum win potential of 15,000x.

The post Weekend Reels | Week 29: Slot Drops & Trends appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Las Vegas
WSOP 2026 wraps in Las Vegas with record 251,899 entries and $469.98m paid out
The 57th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) concluded its summer tournament schedule on July 15, 2026, after 51 days at Paris Las Vegas and Horseshoe Las Vegas. WSOP said the series ran 100 live gold bracelet events and finished with a record 251,899 total entries and $469,975,059 paid out across gold bracelet events.
WSOP reported the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em World Championship (Main Event) attracted 9,208 entrants, with the final nine set to return to Las Vegas from August 3 to 5, 2026, to play down to a champion live on ESPN. “The 57th annual World Series of Poker proved that Las Vegas remains the undisputed epicenter of the poker universe,” said Ty Stewart, Chief Executive Officer of the WSOP. “What is truly remarkable this year is how our community expanded far beyond the physical walls of the casino floor… we are incredibly proud of this summer’s success and cannot wait to witness the Final Nine battle for the World Championship on ESPN next month.”
The operator also pointed to a redesigned final table arena and an expanded distribution footprint. It said Main Event coverage returned to ESPN and cited a multi-year agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery to distribute coverage across HBO Max, Eurosport, and TNT Sports globally. WSOP added that edited broadcasts will air from July 21.
On tournament metrics, WSOP said 35,157 places were paid and 41 prizes of $1m+ were awarded. The operator highlighted several field-size records, including 22,811 entries for Event #63 $1,000 Mystery Millions No-Limit Hold’em, 1,368 entries for Event #68 $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold’em Championship, and 11,933 entries for Event #18 $1,500 Monster Stack No-Limit Hold’em. WSOP also said 149 countries were represented across the series and 111 countries were represented in the Main Event field, which it called a new record.
WSOP also reported digital and social growth during the series, citing 378.3 million total views across its social channels and 222,828 new followers overall. By platform, it reported 38.7 million YouTube views (103,128 new subscribers), 125 million Instagram views (54,450 new followers), 127 million Facebook views (56,800 new followers), and 36.6 million impressions on X (8,450 new followers). Looking ahead, WSOP said it is rolling out a revamped $1 Million Global Player of the Year race spanning WSOP Europe, the Las Vegas summer series, and WSOP Paradise, with the overall winner to be crowned at WSOP Paradise at Baha Mar in The Bahamas from December 1 to 17, 2026.
The post WSOP 2026 wraps in Las Vegas with record 251,899 entries and $469.98m paid out appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
affiliate marketing
iPredicta launches US prediction markets price comparison site
iPredicta has launched a comparison platform for US prediction markets, aimed at bringing live prices from multiple venues into a single interface, including Polymarket. The company announced the launch from London.
iPredicta operates an affiliate model, letting users compare prices on its site before continuing to a participating exchange to register and trade. At launch, the company said it tracks dozens of live markets across two venues, with data updating automatically as markets move.
The platform includes market scoring and notifications designed to help users monitor price differences, liquidity and market movements. It also offers plain-English guides for newcomers and an “AI explanation layer” that summarizes a market’s question, resolution criteria and what the current price implies. iPredicta said the AI “produces the words, not the numbers” and “does not set scores, predict outcomes or give trading advice.”
“Prediction markets have grown rapidly over the past 12 months, yet the information people need is still scattered across different exchanges,” said Charlotte Nimmo, founder of iPredicta. “We launched iPredicta because people should not have to piece everything together across several exchanges just to understand what is happening.
“Whether you are well versed in prediction markets or trying them for the first time, iPredicta brings prices and comparisons together in one place, making it easier to follow how markets are changing. It also gives newcomers a clearer way into a category that can look complicated from the outside.”
The launch comes as prediction markets expand across categories including sport, politics, entertainment, crypto and climate. iPredicta cited CertiK’s 2026 Skynet Prediction Markets Report, which said global prediction market trading volume rose from $15.8 billion in 2024 to $63.5 billion in 2025. Nimmo previously ran affiliate betting platform Best of Bets and founded Cavalier Public Relations, according to the company.
The post iPredicta launches US prediction markets price comparison site appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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