Gambling streaming service signs Twitch star
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A new live streaming service that is very pro-gambling has signed one of Twitch’s biggest stars.
According to New York Times, Félix Lengyel, a Canadian better known on the Internet as xQc, has signed a two-year deal worth approximately $70 million with Kick. According to the report, incentives that could push the total to around $100 million.
The 27-year-old Lengyel built his audience on Amazon-owned Twitch. The former professional Overwatch player has been active on the website since 2014.
“That’s more than most professional athletes and megastars,” said his agent, Ryan Morrison. “This is one of the top deals in entertainment, period.”
Lengyel has around 12 million followers.
“Kick is allowing me to try things I’ve never been able to do before,” Lengyel said in a statement. “I am extremely excited to take this opportunity and maximize it into fresh, creative new ideas over the next few years.”
Twitch has historically been against gambling content. However, Kick is embracing that type of content.
Kick is financially backed by online gambling sites in Australia, such as Easygo Gaming and Stake.com, according to the NYT. Football launched in 2023.
According to the report, Kick takes just a five percent cut of streamers’ earnings from subscriptions. Twitch takes a whopping 50 percent.
Ed Craven, the CEO of Kick, he told the NYT that the company will operate at a loss as it tries to take market share away from Twitch.
Kick averages 110,000 live streams per day, compared to Twitch’s seven million monthly streamers and 31 million daily viewers.
