KTO Group boss confirms the company isn’t shutting its doors, but admits the situation has been ‘difficult’
Social media activity last week sent mixed signals around the future of Know the Odds (KTO) Group, following the Brazilian online gambling ban.
KTO is a flagship igaming brand operating in Brazil, offering sports betting, casino, live gaming experiences and has its own affiliate business.
Anthony MacKay, head of affiliates at the KTO Group, wrote on LinkedIn the organisation is closing its doors.
He said: “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.”
However, just days later KTO founder Andreas Bardun, made a post on the social media platform calling the claims “greatly exaggerated”.
He later went on to write another post on LinkedIn detailing that due to the President’s ban on gambling firm’s has meant KTO has had to make a significant number of staff redundant. Bardun described the situation as “incredibly difficult” and an “even more difficult experience for the people affected and their families”.
He said: “Having to say goodbye to so many talented colleagues was therefore deeply painful.Initially, I wanted to keep this private for a period of time out of respect for those affected. People deserve space to process something like this without immediately seeing their situation turned into headlines, speculation or gossip.
“Unfortunately, that did not happen.Within hours, so-called industry news sites were copying LinkedIn posts, contacting former employees for comments, spreading inaccurate information and competing to “break” a story about people losing their jobs.”
Other sportsbooks forced to go offline
KTO group has a sportsbook, which provides custom recommendations and responsive updates, a casino with games from top industry providers including slots and crash games, as well as an immersive live casino, with table games and game shows.
The B2C operator’s primary market is Brazil. This brings the group under the current gambling prohibition, which is an outright ban on online betting under Brazil’s Bets Law.
Brazil’s ban, which came just a few days before the first round of the presidential election, is in the provisional stage, and will remain in place for up to 120 days until it is ratified or rejected by congress.
Major bookmakers like Entain and Flutter have been forced to go offline as a result while a bill is being drafted by Lula’s government to establish it as criminal offence under fixed-odds betting.
KTO Group is not the only company suffering personnel changes after the decision in Brazil.
As many as 3,500 jobs in Brazil are at risk after President Lula’s ban. This represents around 23% of the workforce, according to data from the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL).
On top of these layoffs, around 4,167 employees are thought to have been affected by a collective furlough. The ANJL is predicting around 5,600 workers could lose their jobs within the next 90 days – that equates to 37% of the industry.
ANJL’s president, Plinio Lemos Jorge said: “We need real numbers to gauge the measure’s effects on the workers and companies that rely on this activity.”
He continued: “It is no coincidence that we use the term ‘betting industry,’ because that is exactly what it is. The sector encompasses various companies, including payment processors, marketing, compliance, agencies, affiliates and specialised media outlets.
“Each of these families is watching a member lose their job due to an unconstitutional decision that has yet to be judged by the Supreme Federal Court.”
As the situation progresses and stabilises, the situation will inevitably become more clear.
