The operator KTO has closed its operations in Brazil less than 3 weeks after the passing of Provisional Measure 1,394/2026, which prohibited online betting. More than 200 employees were laid off on October 8. KTO has not yet confirmed the closure of its operations.
The lay-offs bring the total number of lost jobs in the betting sector of Brazil to over 3500 since about September 25 when President Lula signed the Provisional Measure. According to KTO’s founder and CEO Andreas Bardun, many people will be laid off after the enactment of the law, although not all employees will be dismissed.
Anthony MacKay who is KTO’s head of affiliates said on LinkedIn that recent developments in Brazil made it impossible for a company like KTO to operate in the country.
KTO is headquartered in Malta and was founded in 2018. It entered the Brazilian gambling market in 2019. In August 2024 the company withdrew from Peru and Chile to focus only on Brazil. Blask estimates KTO’s 2025 gross gaming revenue at about €46.2 million (US$54 million), all from Brazil.
Advertising scrutiny
KTO entered into sponsorship agreements with CazéTV to cover over 100 matches of the World Cup on YouTube around three months prior to the ban. The sponsorship agreements reportedly earned €320 million (R$2 billion). KTO’s sponsorship cost wasn’t made public, although each sponsorship agreement was believed to be worth around €29.6 million (R$185 million). CazéTV had audience ratings of 21 million during the Brazil vs Japan matches and 24.2 million during the France vs. Japan match, with 2.5 billion total views during the tournament.
Regulators then stepped in:
- June 24: Senacon initiated a preliminary investigation into betting advertising on CazéTV including that by KTO.
- June 26: Conar suggested that advertising campaigns by KTO, Bet365, and Betnacional be canceled.
- June 30: SPA suspended the campaigns as a precautionary measure and started an administrative procedure since the ads created an urgency to bet and did not feature information in big enough font to be seen.
Operators faced possible fines of up to about €320 million (R$2 billion) and possible licence suspension, but no outcome was reported before the ban.
ANJL, IBJR, which was co-founded by KTO, and Anseja have challenged the decision in the Supreme Court of Brazil. The operators were obliged to comply with the requirements of the SPA until December 15.
