Felix Lengyel, better known by his online streaming handle xQc, revealed on Monday that he has gambled nearly $3 billion on the online casino platform Stake. A screengrab of xQc gambling on Stake and streaming his play on Kick was shared with his followers, disclosing the magnitude of his gambling activities on the platform.
xQc initially gained notoriety in 2016 as a professional “Overwatch” player, a multiplayer first-person shooter game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. His esports career, however, was riddled with controversies, leading to multiple suspensions and his team dismissing him in 2019. Lengyel then pivoted to focus on live-streaming content on Twitch, which catapulted him to massive popularity and wealth. His success resulted in Kick offering him a $100 million contract in June 2023 to transition his esports stream to their platform, which was created by Stake.com co-founders Bijan Tehrani and Ed Craven.
As part of his deal with Kick, Lengyel was required to include online gambling streams. The 28-year-old disclosed to his massive audience on Monday just how much he has been gambling on the Stake iGaming platform, revealing that he has bet almost $3 billion. According to the screenshot shared by Lengyel, he has wagered $2,954,739,443.22 over 1,138,753 bets, averaging about $2,594 per wager. The data shows xQc has lost significantly more than he has won, with 1,011,365 losses against 112,015 wins. These figures encompass bets placed on slot machines, table games, and sports.
Lengyel’s disclosure was met with skepticism and criticism from his followers, many of whom accused him of not using his own money but rather being provided credits by Stake to promote the platform. One follower’s response articulated this suspicion, stating, “He gets paid to use Stakes’ money to gamble and get others addicted to gambling.”
Stake is an online casino that operates primarily with cryptocurrencies and is popular in Canada and overseas, though it is not legal in the US. The iGaming operation is licensed in Curacao. In the US, Stake runs a free-to-play social casino in most states, but does not allow real-money gambling, which is only regulated in a handful of states including Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, none of which license Stake.
Kick appears to be leveraging xQc to promote its streaming service, which competes with Twitch, and convert esports players into gamblers on Stake. Despite criticism from fans accusing him of irresponsible gambling promotion, xQc has remained unapologetic. Earlier this year, responding to his critics, he stated, “Backwards-ass people thinking that an idiot aiming to entertain (me) rips away all free will from vulnerable individuals. Get a grip of your own life before fixing mine.”
Regulators in his native Quebec banned xQc from all casinos after placing him on the province’s exclusion list last year due to widespread allegations of a gambling problem. In November, Lengyel was escorted out of a Montreal casino after celebrating his birthday with his family. Lengyel has since revealed that he is appealing his inclusion on the prohibited persons list.
