Interview: xQc’s blockbuster Kick deal allegedly had nothing to do with Twitch’s gambling ban

In an exclusive interview with Dexerto, xQc’s agency explains that his blockbuster Kick deal had nothing to do with Twitch’s gambling ban and Stake’s ownership. 

When Felix “xQc” Lengyel penned his $100 million deal with the streaming platform Kick, it lit the entertainment world on fire. One of the largest of its kind, it drew comparisons to blockbuster sports signings which it handily dwarfed in price.

However, questions arose surrounding the nature of the deal as Kick is backed by the online casino Stake.com, and xQc has long been critical of Twitch’s handling of gambling streams in the past. 

So, did xQc’s Kick deal have anything to do with Twitch’s gambling ban and his gambling streams? 

xQc’s Kick deal had nothing to do with Stake and gambling, agency claims

Talking to Sébastien Delvaux, the COO of Evolved, the talent agency representing xQc, he says that the deal had nothing to do with gambling or Stake. 

“The actual Kick conversation, Stake was never part of that, [Kick] was very clear, and we were very clear,” he said of their discussions with the streaming platform about the deal. 

“They were very clear that Kick as a platform is not just an outlet for Stake, and we were very clear that Stake and deliverables around that potentially cannot be part of this contract.” 

Delvaux said this was to ensure the quality of xQc’s streams didn’t suffer, as the experience for viewers would decline if he was made to do gambling streams. 

“There’s no world in which we want 100% of xQc’s to be gambling, or even for fans to feel like this move is going to deteriorate the quality of their experience as to what they’re used to on Twitch.” 

Rather, Delvaux says the contract allows xQc the choice to do gambling streams if he wants to, but is never obliged to do so under the deal. 

“Making sure that Felix has the freedom to gamble, if he wants to, because a lot of fans do enjoy those types of streams, but isn’t necessarily obligated to do it in any way, was very important to us.

So he can do it if he feels like it’s something that he wants to do at the time, but there’s no obligation in the Kick contract for him to do that.”