KTO has ceased its operations in Brazil just weeks after the enactment of Provisional Measure 1,394/2026, which outlawed online betting. On October 8, the company laid off over 200 employees, although it has yet to officially confirm the closure.
The layoffs contribute to a growing tally of more than 3,500 job losses in Brazil's betting industry since President Lula signed the Provisional Measure around September 25. KTO's founder and CEO, Andreas Bardun, indicated that while many would lose their jobs due to the new law, not all staff would be dismissed.
Anthony MacKay, KTO’s head of affiliates, expressed on LinkedIn that the recent regulatory developments had made it unfeasible for KTO to maintain its operations within Brazil.
Headquartered in Malta, KTO was founded in 2018 and entered the Brazilian market in 2019. The company shifted its focus solely to Brazil in August 2024 after withdrawing from Peru and Chile. In 2025, Blask projected KTO's gross gaming revenue from Brazil at approximately €46.2 million (US$54 million).
Just three months before the ban, KTO had secured sponsorship agreements with CazéTV to stream over 100 World Cup matches on YouTube. These agreements reportedly generated €320 million (R$2 billion) in revenue, although KTO did not disclose the exact amount paid for each sponsorship, which was estimated to be around €29.6 million (R$185 million). CazéTV garnered massive viewership during the tournament, reaching an audience of 21 million for the Brazil vs. Japan match and 24.2 million for the France vs. Japan match, totaling 2.5 billion views.
In response to the situation, regulators took action:
– On June 24, Senacon launched a preliminary investigation into betting advertisements on CazéTV, including those from KTO.
– On June 26, Conar suggested that KTO, Bet365, and Betnacional terminate their advertising campaigns.
– By June 30, SPA suspended the campaigns as a precaution, initiating an administrative process due to concerns that the ads created undue urgency to gamble and the font size for essential information was inadequate.
Operators faced potential fines of up to €320 million (R$2 billion) and the risk of license suspension, although no outcomes were known before the ban.
ANJL, IBJR (co-founded by KTO), and Anseja have challenged the legality of the decision in Brazil's Supreme Court. Meanwhile, operators were required to comply with SPA regulations until December 15.
