Canadian Twitch streamer Félix Lengyel, popularly known as xQc, confessed to being addicted to gambling in a podcast with fellow streamer Pokimane on May 1, 2022. He mentioned losing $1.85 million in a month to gambling. Before the podcast, the former pro gamer admitted his struggles with gambling addiction in a separate livestream.
Apart from gambling in online casinos, xQc also practices the habit in virtually all the games he plays. Perhaps his experience could serve as a cautionary tale to those who aspire to be like him and gain both money and fame by going down a road that leads to quite a slippery slope if not practiced responsibly. Yet, even though he’s lost a substantial amount of money in the past month alone, xQc still remains one of the top streamers worldwide. He’s amassed over 10.5 million followers on Twitch and over 4 hundred thousand on Instagram.
xQc Confesses to Gambling Addiction in Podcast
During Pokimane’s podcast, the streamer frankly admitted gambling in the games he plays besides online casinos. On being asked if he would have gambled instead of streaming videos on Twitch, Lengyel mentioned losing a massive amount of money in April 2022.
Surprised at her fellow streamer’s candid confession, Pokimane mentioned the adverse effects of xQc’s gambling live streams on his viewers. While the Canadian agreed that it was bad, he enjoyed gambling and engaged in it because he could afford to lose money without being in a precarious position. Lengyel, who is currently one of the most popular streamers on Twitch, denied being a part of any gambling sponsorships.
Previously, the 26-year-old had admitted to gambling in almost every game he played. Despite acknowledging that he was an addict and ill, Lengyel said that it could not be helped as he was prone to get addicted to things.
A popular website published an article based on his conversation with Pokimane that was widely circulated. The news piece also reached Lengyel’s father, who was concerned about his son’s well-being. The streamer had a brief altercation with him over a call during a livestream on May 2. Lengyel is yet to make a public statement about his addiction and the money he lost to gambling.
Lengyel Continues to Rule Twitch
Even though Lengyel lost close to $2 million in April, he continues to command a huge fan following on Twitch, with more than 10.5 million followers. According to a Twitch statistics website, he leads in average viewers and peak viewers categories.
In 2021, the streamer earned the ire of many for showing viewers that he gambled in cryptocurrency on sites like DuelBits and Stake.
Several viewers urged that the livestreams be banned as they could encourage young viewers to gamble online. Since the majority of young viewers don’t come from a privileged position that insulates them from harm, the concerns regarding them being vulnerable to gambling-related harm and addiction are legitimate.
Poker streaming wave engulfs Twitch
The recent spate of controversies around xQc indicates the popularity of gambling livestream videos on Twitch. Initially, a video game streaming network, Twitch has grown to support a wide variety of content.
Poker streamers earn from a revenue-sharing arrangement on Twitch along with various e-wallet affiliate programs. The most popular poker streamers make thousands of dollars by partnering with famed poker sites and online casinos that sponsor them. A streamer’s financial success depends on the quality of the content they generate and their ability to attract more subscribers. Many online casinos hire these streamers as brand ambassadors, given their immense popularity.
Several professional poker players go live on TwitchTV while playing on online casinos and are reported to earn a significant amount. Streamers do not reveal their earnings publicly and prefer to keep matters private.
Despite the multiple attempts to maintain secrecy around Twitch streamers’ income, a cyberattack in 2021 revealed the figures. Dutch poker streamer and PokerStars ambassador Lex Veldhuis was found to earn over $294,000. Following his lead were Ben ‘Spraggy’ Sprag who had earnings of $235,000, and Brian Davis, known by his moniker True Geordie at $128,000.
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