The former Overwatch professional Félix “xQc” Lengyel (26) is one of the largest streamers on Twitch. He is now doing gambling streams. A finance magazine mentioned him in an article about online casinos, but he disagreed with the figures presented.
This is what the casino streams are about:
- xQc has been regularly showing casino streams on Twitch since May 2022
- He often bets big sums and claims to be addicted to gambling
- The US site Bloomberg published a report about the crypto casino Stake, which also sponsors xQc
- xQc has now commented on the article and criticized it sharply
In Germany, such gambling streams were also extremely successful for a while. You can read about the legal situation here:
xQc on Bloomberg: “This is made up!”
What was mentioned in the article? On August 5, the American website Bloomberg published a report about the online casino Stake and its deals with major Twitch streamers. The accusation: The streamers’ losses would be reimbursed, but their viewers would go bankrupt.
This part annoyed xQc: At one point, the Bloomberg article mentions a promo code through which xQc’s viewers could register at the casino. This code had already brought Stake 119 million dollars.
These claims are said to be deliberate misinformation to create a false narrative. xQc was outraged about this type of reporting. He cannot understand why Bloomberg allows something like this.
What’s the deal with that number? xQc then called up his statistics at the online casino Stake. The sum referred to by the article’s author is his “wager amounts,” meaning his own bets and not those of his viewers.
It’s so damn stupid. I’m not going to sue them, but it’s weak for a big media company like Bloomberg to let someone distort information. […] As a journalist, you shouldn’t be allowed to do that; you should lose your job.
xQc via Twitch
However, viewers were initially shocked by the actual size of the bets.
xQc has lost more than 660 million euros on Stake
This is what the statistics look like: In over 600,000 bets, xQc has already wagered a total of 685 million dollars. There is also a soberingly low win rate of just under 10%.
Here are the reactions: On Reddit, where a clip from the stream landed in LivestreamFail, users were shocked by the amount. Redditor michael_am eloquently summarized it: “Holy shit.”
Others tried to clarify. This is not the amount that xQc has lost, but rather all his bets. This also includes winnings with which the streamer then continued to gamble.
Others are unimpressed by the numbers: it’s all just “Monopoly money” and xQc wouldn’t be playing with his own money anyway, but would have losses reimbursed.
How much has xQc actually lost? This can’t be read from the statistics. However, some math enthusiasts on Reddit estimate actual losses of 30-45 million dollars.
Even outside of his gambling streams, xQc is often involved in controversies. In July, he commented on TwitchCon in Amsterdam and compared it to a zoo: “You just want to observe down-and-out species up close!”
If you have problems with gambling or are worried about a loved one, contact the counseling helpline of the Federal Ministry. The counseling team of the BZgA can be reached free of charge and anonymously at 0800 1 37 27 00. The consultation hours: Monday to Thursday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. throughout the year (except December 24 and December 31).
