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Real Madrid and Barcelona neck-and-neck as world’s most valuable football brands in the face of COVID-19
- Real Madrid remain world’s most valuable football brand, but Barcelona narrow the gap to just €6 million
- COVID-19 causes total brand value of top 50 clubs to decrease for the first time in 6 years – €751 million or 3.7% is knocked off
- English clubs dominate the ranking with six brands in top 10 and 19 in top 50
- Liverpool inches two spots up into 4th place, following historic Premier League win
- Bundesliga’s 1. FC Köln is this year’s fastest-growing brand, followed by Leicester City and RB Leipzig – all recording over 40% growth
- Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium takes top spot in Buro Happold’s Venue Performance Rating
Real Madrid remain the most valuable football club brand in the world for 2020, according to the latest edition of the Brand Finance Football Annual. Boosted by winning the LaLiga title for the first time since 2017, the club retained its position at the top of the table in the football industry, but against a backdrop of economic and social disruption, caused primarily by the COVID-19 pandemic, Real Madrid’s brand value has declined by 14% to €1,419 million.
Real Madrid’s disappointing on-pitch performance prior to 2019-20, which saw an earlier-than-normal exit from the UEFA Champions League in 2018-19 and a second successive season adrift of LaLiga champions Barcelona, eroded the club’s dominance of the Brand Finance ranking. The situation was exacerbated by COVID-19, along with a lack of stability around the management of the team. Barcelona, Real’s fierce rivals, are just €6 million behind Real with a brand value of €1,413 million, supported by strong and diverse revenue generation and continued domestic performance in Spain.
COVID-19 knocks off €751 million of brand value
Real Madrid is not the only club to see a drop in brand value this year. COVID-19 has caused the total value of the top 50 football brands to decrease for the first time in 6 years. Through its effect on the three main revenue streams – Matchday, Broadcasting, and Commercial – €751 million or 3.7% has been knocked off the cumulative brand value of the world’s top 50 most valuable football clubs.
The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged professional football worldwide and across all levels. Matchday income for the 501 games remaining in the big 5 leagues dropped to zero, but it is often the smaller clubs and leagues which are more reliant on this revenue stream – in Scotland it makes up 43% of total revenue, compared to only 13% in England.
There have been some positive signs, as Southampton vs Manchester City on BBC broke the Premier League TV audience record with 5.7 million viewers, but the longer-term damage to the game’s economic structure has yet to be revealed.
Richard Haigh, Managing Director of Brand Finance, commented:
“Top-level football has been confronted with the largest existential threat since the Second World War. Loss of income, coupled with health concerns about mass gatherings, have raised question marks about the future of the industry and the financial resilience of clubs across all levels. The full damage of the COVID-19 crisis has yet to unfold and it is not inconceivable there will be casualties in the form of club bankruptcies and changes in ownership.”
Despite the huge implications of COVID-19 for football clubs and their financial results, the majority of the brand value is secured by the clubs’ long-term future – provided they can survive the initial shock. For example, only 21% of Real Madrid’s brand value is delivered by the next five years’ financial results.
Premier power
Real Madrid and Barcelona are followed by a cluster of English Premier League clubs in the Brand Finance Football Annual 2020 ranking, with Manchester United in 3rd position after their brand value fell by 11% to €1,314 million. Liverpool, who won their first league title since 1990 in runaway style, are in 4th spot jumping above Manchester City in terms of brand value, rising from €1,191 million in 2019 to €1,262 million, a 6% increase. Chelsea dropped one place in the table to 8th after their value fell for the fourth consecutive year to €949 million. This was arguably due to the club being absent from the UEFA Champions League and also suffering a transfer ban after being charged with breaking Financial Fair Play Regulations.
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Bet It Drives
GR8 Tech’s Bet It Drives Season 2 Finale: Kelly Kehn on Opening iGaming to New Founders
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Lisbon’s streets set the pace for Season 2 of GR8 Tech’s Bet It Drives—the drive-time podcast where iGaming’s most interesting voices speak freely. Hosted by Yevhen Krazhan, Chief Sales Officer at GR8 Tech, each episode captures raw insight, candid stories, and the energy you can only find on the road.
Episode 4 of the Season 2 finale puts the spotlight on Kelly Kehn, founder, board member, and startup advisor in gaming. As co-founder of Defy the Odds (DTO), she’s building a launchpad and community connecting startups, investors, and operators—with a focus on female and minority founders. Previously, she co-founded the All-In Diversity Project, held ecosystem roles at happyhour.io and SBC, and serves on boards including FUNNZ.
During the ride, Kelly opens up about:
- Why iGaming events matter: the community, access, and acceleration you only get in the room.
- Defy the Odds (DTO): why she and her co-founders built it, what it is, and how founders plug in.
- Women in iGaming: real challenges and how to lower the barrier to entry; inclusion as a growth strategy.
- Pitch ideas that paid off and common startup pitch mistakes.
- The next possible unicorn in iGaming and what makes it possible.
- Soundtrack to success: the song for a win, the pre-coaching track, and the one that sums up her career.
- The boldest ideas: intention, asking for help, and doing the homework.
- The unwritten rule of iGaming.
- Halloween rubric: the scariest moments in life and career, and why saying the hard thing out loud matters.
- Kelly’s Champion Rule: Be kind to yourself and to others.
“As Kelly said, ‘When we open the space to more people and more perspectives, we all win and the pie gets bigger.’ This episode was the perfect finish of our Season 2 in Lisbon,” said Krazhan.
Watch or listen to Season 2, Episode 4 with Kelly Kehn on:
Season 2 of Bet It Drives launched with Rasmus Sojmark, kept pace with Tiago Pereira and Kyrylo Korobka, and now crosses the line with Kelly Kehn in the finale. But still, don’t unbuckle yet: Season 3 is coming soon with more interesting conversations and more reasons to hit play. Follow GR8 Tech to stay in the loop.
The next chapter of iGaming belongs to champions who play smart and bold. Join GR8 Tech at SiGMA Central Europe 2025, Rome, November 3–6, booth 5028-2, and discover the Heavyweight Rulebook—built for operators ready to scale, localize, and win.
The post GR8 Tech’s Bet It Drives Season 2 Finale: Kelly Kehn on Opening iGaming to New Founders appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Anna Hargrave
GambleAware Warns Outdated Gambling Advertising and Marketing Regulations are Leaving Children at Risk of Gambling Harm
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Regulations for online gambling marketing must urgently be brought into the digital age, a new report from the charity GambleAware has warned.
The report reveals that despite gambling being an age-restricted product, children are being exposed to gambling marketing online, before they reach an age at which they can critically evaluate it. This is leading to gambling being normalised and portrayed as “risk-free”, which increases the risk of them experiencing gambling harm.
Gambling harms are becoming an increasing part of children’s lives, with previous research finding that in 2024, around 85,000 children in Britain were experiencing harm from their own gambling, a figure which has doubled since 20233. GambleAware’s new report highlights how seeing gambling marketing and content, online and via social and streaming platforms, could be encouraging children to gamble and contributing to the number experiencing harm.
The new report calls out poor regulation of gambling marketing online, highlighting how more needs to be done to ensure the rules reflect the unique challenges presented by the digital age and urges a reduction in self-regulation to protect children from being exposed to age-restricted gambling content. Alongside this, GambleAware is also calling for mandatory health warnings to be put on all gambling marketing so people are aware of the risks and support available.
Specific changes to help protect children could include moves to hold online platforms to greater account and ensuring existing government programmes, such as the Online Safety Act and Online Advertising Programme, more directly address gambling marketing and content online. Alongside this, other recommendations include the alignment and strengthening of online safety regulatory powers and programmes.
GambleAware research also found strong public support from children and adults for changes to gambling marketing and advertising regulation. Around four in five children (79%) say they want more rules around gambling content and advertising on social media. Alongside this, over seven in ten adults also agree, saying they want more regulation around gambling advertising on social media (74%) and gambling related content on social media (70%).
Anna Hargrave, GambleAware Transition CEO, said: “Gambling operators invest significant resources into online marketing because it works at getting people to gamble more. This has resulted in children and young people being exposed to gambling content online before an age at which they can critically evaluate it and understand the risks that come with it.
“The current regulations covering gambling marketing and advertising online were designed before most children had easy access to the internet. Urgent action is needed to update these rules and bring them into the digital age to help keep children and young people safe from gambling harm.”
The post GambleAware Warns Outdated Gambling Advertising and Marketing Regulations are Leaving Children at Risk of Gambling Harm appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Angelina Stasiuk Head of Business Line at SOFTSWISS Jackpot Aggregator
SOFTSWISS Jackpot Aggregator Marks Four Years of Growth and Global Expansion
Reading Time: 2 minutes
The SOFTSWISS Jackpot Aggregator, an award-winning player engagement solution, celebrates its fourth anniversary, delivering strong business results and expanding into new regulated markets.
Since its launch in 2021, the SOFTSWISS Jackpot Aggregator has become a trusted engagement and retention tool for operators worldwide. By the beginning of Q4 2025, the solution powers over 100 active brands, with more than 520 jackpot campaigns launched and 68,000+ jackpot hits. These numbers reflect growing adoption and consistent performance across regulated markets.
In early 2025, the SOFTSWISS Jackpot Aggregator obtained certifications in Brazil, Peru, and Estonia, strengthening its position in Latin America and Europe. These approvals allow operators in both markets to integrate the tool in full compliance with regulatory and technical standards.
Angelina Stasiuk, Head of Business Line at SOFTSWISS Jackpot Aggregator, shares: “Four years of consistent growth show how powerful engagement mechanics can be when built on flexibility and trust. Our recent expansion into new regulated markets marks an exciting new chapter, giving regional operators access to the same reliable and engaging jackpot solutions that have already proven successful worldwide. We’re proud to see the Jackpot Aggregator evolve into a solution that brings real value to both operators and their audiences.”
The flagship Prime Network Jackpot remains the key feature of the Jackpot Aggregator. The tool unites multiple operators under a shared prize pool, driving some of the industry’s most impressive payouts. One of its campaigns paid out a record-breaking €1,368,013, while a recent win in September 2025 saw a lucky player take home €758,262.71. The growing scale of the network confirms its power to increase engagement and deliver immersive gaming experiences for players worldwide.
Rosaria Freitas, Director of Product at Kirgo Casino, comments: “Congratulations to SOFTSWISS on four years of the Jackpot Aggregator. At Kirgo, we emphasise real play, real rewards, and zero distractions. This partnership enhances what our players can win without compromising that focus. By combining our local jackpots with the Prime Network, we’re offering Kirgo players exclusive community rewards and access to major shared prizes: simple, transparent, and designed for real enjoyment value.”
The SOFTSWISS Jackpot Aggregator continues to evolve as a cornerstone of player engagement strategy. This year, the solution introduced a major update – the Paid Participation Campaigns feature, which expands entertainment options for players and creates new revenue opportunities for operators. In this format, players contribute an entry fee to join jackpots, prize drops, multi-prizes, or even the Prime Network Jackpot. The feature also encourages closer collaboration with game providers, driving mutual promotion and long-term player engagement.
About SOFTSWISS
SOFTSWISS is an international technology company with over 15 years of experience in developing innovative solutions for the iGaming industry. SOFTSWISS provides comprehensive software for managing iGaming projects. The company’s product portfolio includes the Casino Platform, the Game Aggregator with over 35,000 casino games, Affilka Affiliate Platform, the Sportsbook Platform and the Jackpot Aggregator. The expert team, based in Malta, Poland, and Georgia, counts over 2,000 employees.
The post SOFTSWISS Jackpot Aggregator Marks Four Years of Growth and Global Expansion appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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