Trainwreck's Stake Deal: His Pay Claims, Kick Equity and Losses

Trainwreck (Tyler Niknam) has said for years that Stake pays him to gamble on stream, but every number on his deal comes from him or an anonymous source, not from Stake. He said in October 2022 he'd been paid $360 million over 16 months. Bloomberg reported in 2026 that he got "eight figures a month" after moving to Kick. And on November 3, 2026 he wrote on X about a $50 million a month paycheck, without saying who pays it.

I'm Andy. I'm a former gambling addict who built up roughly $100,000 of gambling debt between 18 and my mid-20s, and I've worked in marketing for over a decade. Nobody pays me to write this. Trainwreck has said a lot of things on stream that contradict each other, so everything below is dated and attributed.

How much is Trainwreck's Stake deal worth?

Nobody outside the deal knows for sure, and no contract has ever been published. What exists is a trail of his own claims, which have grown over time, plus one anonymous source:

• February 2022: He told viewers he was making much more than $1 million a month from Stake, and that to get paid he had to gamble on stream in four-hour sessions. He wouldn't share exact figures (Inven Global).
• October 2022: Right before Twitch's gambling ban, he said: "I've been paid $360 million for 16 months of gambling" (Dot Esports). He said he'd given around $70 million to $75 million of it back to his community. TweakTown noted the figure supposedly included money he gambled with, and Stake never verified it (TweakTown).
• December 2022: When he moved to Kick, he told The Washington Post he had no contract with Stake (Washington Post).
• 2026: Bloomberg Businessweek reported, citing a person with knowledge of his contract, that he got eight figures a month. It described this in the context of his move to Kick and didn't say who paid it. He didn't respond to Bloomberg's requests for comment (Bloomberg).
• November 3, 2026: Replying to another user on X, he wrote that "the 50M a month paycheck is hard to justify not taking" (his post on X). He didn't say who pays it or whether it's a new deal, and nobody has confirmed the figure.

Does Trainwreck own part of Kick?

He says he does, but the size of his stake has never been made public. Kick was founded by Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani, the same people behind Stake. Trainwreck often gets called a Kick co-founder, but his own description of his role has changed:

• December 2022: At launch, he described himself as a "non-owner advisor" and non-exclusive streamer (Kotaku, PC Gamer). He told The Washington Post that Craven had invested in Kick. Kick said Craven was involved in Kick, without saying Stake itself was an investor.
• February 2024: On a stream with Adin Ross, he said "Look at us now, literal equity owners," and that Kick was doing well. He gave no percentage or valuation. The same week, Tehrani posted that Kick had turned down a $1 billion offer (Dexerto).

So what is Trainwreck's equity in Kick? It isn't public. Anyone quoting a percentage is guessing. And is he a Kick founder? Not on the public record: he joined as an advisor and streamer and later said he'd become an equity owner.

Trainwreck's gambling stats: how much has he wagered and lost?

Bloomberg reported that by 2024 he'd wagered $18 billion in crypto, based on a screenshot someone posted on X after he showed his account information on stream. That's the total of every bet, not money lost. The same dollars get bet again and again.

His biggest reported win came in July 2025: $37.5 million worth of crypto on a $6,000 bet, on a game run by Stake's parent company, Easygo. When Bloomberg analysed Kick footage from 25 Stake players, his big-win rate was about average, unlike Drake's (Bloomberg).

There's no full public record of his losses. The pieces he's shared are scattered. In July 2021, he said he'd lost about $2 million off stream and was trying to win it back: "I'm doing something none of you should ever do, but I'm chasing losses" (Dexerto).

Is it his own money?

By his account, partly. In February 2022, he said he mixed his Stake pay with money he already had and gambled all of it, and admitted that wasn't smart (Inven Global). Bloomberg reported that some Kick streamers with Stake marketing deals got crypto wallet refills, and that Trainwreck once said on stream that some streamers are on "fill" deals, where Stake supplies the balance and they can't withdraw all of their winnings, while acting like it's their own money. Bloomberg didn't say what kind of deal he has. Craven has repeatedly denied that Stake's influencers get better odds.

Is Trainwreck in debt? What's his net worth?

No reputable outlet has reported that he's in debt, and I couldn't verify any figure. Treat any "Trainwreck debt" number you see as rumour.

There's also no reliable net worth figure. Net-worth sites guess. What's on record is the pay he's claimed above, and moments like May 2021, when he told a critical viewer he still had about $6 million or $7 million in crypto after a market drop (Dexerto). That's a five-year-old number from his own mouth, not a balance sheet.

Has Trainwreck stopped gambling on stream?

Not as far as the public record shows. In September 2022, as Twitch's ban approached, he said on Destiny's stream that he didn't know if he could stop gambling, and that he planned to keep going until the rules kicked in (Dot Esports). He moved to Kick, where gambling streams are allowed, and Bloomberg reported his record win there in July 2025. In his November 2026 post on X, he wrote that he craves the chaos and that all he does off stream is gamble anyway.

What this deal is really selling

This is my opinion. Look at what Stake reportedly paid for in 2022, by his account: hours. Four hours a session of a famous streamer gambling live. The product isn't a slot. It's the idea that betting thousands a spin is a normal Tuesday night.

A $37.5 million win is exactly the kind of moment that gets clipped and shared. The off-stream losses aren't. In 2024, I documented more than 1,200 posts on X stamped with Stake's logo with no clear disclosure. The win clip is the ad. I explain how that works in how casinos use influencers to promote gambling.

He told The Washington Post in 2022: "I just love the chance of the unobtainable." That's the pitch, word for word.

I'm not going to diagnose anyone. But chasing losses, and not knowing if you can stop, are things he has described in his own words, and things I lived with for years. When that gets talked about on camera and the stream keeps going, viewers learn it's just part of the show.

More creator files

• Drake's Stake deal: what it's worth, the lawsuits and the losses
• Adin Ross's Stake deal, Rainbet and Kick
• Nadeshot's Roobet deal and the backlash
• Does Vegas Matt use real money?
• Airrack's casino video and DraftKings ads

How the whole playbook works: how casinos use influencers to sell gambling.

If you watch Trainwreck and you've started gambling

You're not stupid, and you're not alone. These streams are built to make it feel easy. If you've signed up for Stake, start by self-excluding from Stake, then block gambling sites on your phone and computer. Signed up for more than one? Use the guide to quitting online casinos.

If you're a parent or partner of someone who watches, read how to help someone with a gambling problem.

Canada (Alberta): 1-866-332-2322. US: 1-800-MY-RESET. UK: GamCare 0808 8020 133. Australia: 1800 858 858.

Fund the fight

Pawn of God is funded by its audience, not by casinos. Founders pay $3 a month to keep the investigations independent, get investigation chapters first, the members-only newsletter and Discord, and a permanent block on the Founders' Mural. There are only 2,000 Founder spots.

Become a Founder →

Sources

• How to Win Slots and Influence People, Bloomberg Businessweek (February 2026)
• Trainwreck reply on X, @Trainwreckstv (November 2026)
• Kick co-founder reveals platform turned down $1 billion offer, Dexerto (February 2024)
• Top Twitch creator endorses platform connected to crypto gambling site, The Washington Post (December 2022)
• Trainwreck's new streaming platform and its ties to Stake, Kotaku (December 2022)
• Notorious gambling streamer pushes new streaming platform with connections to a crypto casino, PC Gamer (December 2022)
• Trainwreck brags about gambling sponsorship profits, Dot Esports (October 2022)
• Twitch streamer says he made $360 million promoting Stake over 16 months, TweakTown (October 2022)
• Trainwreck on Twitch's gambling ban, on Destiny's stream, Dot Esports (September 2022)
• TrainWreck reveals he makes much more than $1M a month off gambling deal, Inven Global (February 2022)
• Trainwrecks claims he lost over $2 million while gambling off-stream, Dexerto (July 2021)
• Trainwrecks hits out at Twitch viewers telling him to stop gambling, Dexerto (May 2021)