Social media activity is sending mixed signals around the future of Brazil-focused KTO Group.
Reports have surfaced that KTO is closing down its business as a result of the gambling ban in Brazil.
This started when Anthony MacKay, Head of Affiliates at KTO, took to LinkedIn to announce the news to his followers.
“As many of you have heard by now, the recent developments in Brazil have unfortunately led KTO Group to closing down its doors,” MacKay wrote.
“This is a very personal and emotional post for me to write. I still remember my first day vividly…Fast forward to now, although this is the end of a chapter, I look back at these past few years with nothing but pride and gratitude for what we have managed to build.
“On a final note, although this may be the end of KTO as we know it, its values will always live with me both personally and professionally.
“I also want to mention that with these recent events, many of my colleagues are now looking for their next opportunity, and it’s a gold mine of talent which any company would be lucky to have.”
MacKay took the time to “especially” thank Andreas Bardun, Founder of KTO, for the opportunity to be “a part of the journey”.
However, a subsequent LinkedIn post from Bardun has cast doubt on whether KTO is definitively shutting up shop.
Bardun wrote shortly after that “the reports of KTO Group’s death are greatly exaggerated”.
SBC News has reached out to Bardun for a comment.
Brazil’s sweeping ban
Whether or not KTO is closing down, it is surely to be affected in one way or another by the gambling ban enforced on 25 September by Brazil’s President Lula da Silva.
The Malta-headquartered company counts Brazil as its sole market.
It stands to reason, therefore, that President Lula da Silva’s decision to go nuclear and ban all online gambling in Brazil after weeks of ramping up actions and talking points against the sector, will deal KTO a heavy blow.
Brazil’s licensed gambling sector, which came under regulation on 1 January 2025, has mounted a defence against the ban. There has been talk of some firms, like Betano, challenging the President’s decision in court.
Operators main legal argument rests on the five-year licences firms, which include a non-refundable R$30m (£4.5m) fee, were practically made void overnight.
Trade bodies like the ANJL and IBJR are leading the lobbying charge against the ban.
Meanwhile, the country’s constitutional backbone in the face of the Attorney General Office and the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office have stood firmly behind Lula’s decision.
Whether or not the ban remains in place will be eventually decided by the National Congress and the Supreme Court, which are due to deliberate after the ongoing Presidential elections cycle concludes on 25 October, deciding whether Lula will remain in power or the Presidential seat will be taken by his main opponent, Flávio Bolsonaro.