Poker and online gaming streams have surged in popularity over the last few years with players around the world taking to Twitch to showcase their skills. However, a new platform has emerged in the industry and is signing some streamers to lucrative contracts in an effort to bring their audiences with them – gambling streams included.
Kick is backed by the co-founders of the Stake gambling site and has been shelling out some big bucks in signing streaming stars. One of those, Félix “xQc” Lengyel, signed a two-year deal with the platform in January for $70 million. The agreement includes financial incentives that could bring total to $100 million.
After Twitch cracked down on certain gambling streams in recent years, Kick looks to offer an alternative. Call of Duty streamer Nick “Nickmercs” Kolcheff also recently signed with the company for an eight-figure sum and launched his first stream last week. Gambling appears to be a major part of the platform’s future.
“The first question I’ve been seeing is like, ‘Nick, are you going to do gambling streams?’” he said on the debut stream. “We’re going to do some gambling for sure. It’s part of the contract.”
Kick Deals Focus On Gambling Streams
Recent media reports note that some streamers may have a contract with both Kick and Stake, meaning gambling will be a major part of the action on the platform.
“Nickmercs basically confirmed what many had suspected: that Stake is throwing money at streamers to promote gambling via Kick,” PC Gamer reports. “Kick’s status as one of the few streaming platforms to have built any audience in the face of Twitch is key here, because last year Twitch took action following community concerns about an increasing prevalence of gambling streams on the platform.”
A quick scan of xQc’s Kick channel reveals some of his streams already showcasing some gambling, including slot play. While on stream recently, a viewer asked about the gambling.
“Bro, I’ve never lied once about it before. What is up with this guy? Everyone knows I am,” he responded.
PC Gamer noted that there may be concerns with the streamer being paid to gamble as he has revealed some addictive tendencies in the past.
Lengyel has about 12 million followers on Twitch and signing with Kick made major headlines as the service hoped to tap some of the industry’s leading creators to build the brand. The service takes only 5% of a streamer’s subscription revenue compared to 50% of Twitch.
“This is more than most professional athletes and megastars,” Lengyel’s agent Ryan Morrison said at the time of the deal. “This is one of the highest deals in entertainment, period.”
Lengyel is also a fan of poker and has played on Hustler Casino Live. On the show, he played with the likes of Phil Hellmuth and Tom Dwan and other content creators such as Alexandra Botez, Jimmy ‘Mr. Beast’ Donaldson, Ludwig Ahgren, and Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins. He ultimately finished the session down about $100,000.
A recent Instagram post also showed him gambling at Bellagio in Las Vegas, sitting at the table with more than $150,000 in front of him.