GameArt and KTO Group: what is left of the December 2023 Brazil deal?

Key points

• The deal: on 4 December 2023, GameArt announces a strategic partnership with KTO Group, which it calls its biggest client in Brazil. It promises to bring its HTML5 slots to the operator's platform, with no titles, no volume and no go-live date.
• The operator: KTO Group is a private company founded in Malta in 2018 by Andreas Bardun. It launched the KTO brand in Brazil in 2019, where the brand was run by Apollo Operations Ltda.
• All in on Brazil: KTO leaves Peru and Chile in 2024, opens offices in Porto Alegre and Santa Cruz do Sul and makes Brazil its only market.
• Top 10 claim: the Latin American ranking claimed in 2023 rests on no published study. In July 2024, a brand awareness survey by ENV Media put KTO third in Brazil, with 9.1%.
• Law 14.790: enacted on 29 December 2023, twenty-five days after the deal, it sets up five-year authorisations costing up to R$30 million for three brands. KTO gets its own in the first wave, published on 31 December 2024.
• Certification: to stay live with an authorised operator, every slot had to be certified by a body recognised by the Secretaria de Prêmios e Apostas (SPA) and guarantee a theoretical RTP of at least 85%.
• The ban: Provisional Measure 1.394/2026, signed on 25 September 2026, outlaws online betting and gambling. Sites had to go offline on 6 October, and kto.bet.br now redirects to the government page “Brasil sem Bets”.
• Licence gone: KTO's authorisation ended on 25 October 2026, along with those of 84 other companies (188 brands in all), with no refund. Andreas Bardun confirms “significant” job cuts but denies that the group is dead.
• Other doors: in Latin America, GameArt also worked through the Vibra Solutions platform (March 2024). In Brazil, it relied on free demos for Brazilian players on CacaNiquesOnline (November 2024) and on the affiliate site JogosDeApostas.com (August 2025).
• Courts and politics: on 26 October 2026, Justice Luiz Fux of the Supreme Federal Court leaves the measure in force and sets a public hearing for 3 November. Without a vote in Congress, the measure would lapse on 4 March 2027.
• The studio: in Brazil, SPA authorisation applied to operators only. GameArt, a Malta-licensed studio, loses a market outlet, not a licence.

On 4 December 2023, GameArt headlined its announcement “GameArt Strengthens Presence in LATAM through Strategic Partnership with KTO Group”. In black and white, it named KTO as the studio's most important client in Brazil. Almost three years later, in October 2026, KTO's Brazilian address opens onto a government page with a blunt name: Brasil sem Bets, Brazil without bets.

Between those two dates, Brazil passed a law, opened a regulated market and charged R$30 million per authorisation. Then it shut everything down with a provisional measure. In less than three years, what GameArt, a Malta-based slot provider, called a strategic alliance became a textbook case of how fragile a new market can be.

I have been reading partnership announcements since 2011, and you rarely get to see how they end. This one reads like a betting slip whose result you already know. Every sentence from 2023 now carries a different weight.

What did GameArt's 4 December 2023 press release say?

Dated 4 December 2023, GameArt's press release on KTO Group calls the operator “one of the fastest growing and most popular iGaming brands in Brazil”. It then says KTO has “secured its position in the top 10 among LATAM's iGaming brands”. The sentence that really matters is elsewhere: KTO is “its largest client in Brazil”, the studio's biggest Brazilian client.

The promise hangs on a verb in the future tense. GameArt “will bring” its HTML5 slot portfolio to KTO's platform. The portfolio is described in broad terms, without a single game name.

Two voices carry the announcement. Almir Kudic, GameArt's Head of R&D and Strategic Operations, says the studio is “thrilled to be partnering with KTO Group, a prominent and influential iGaming brand in the LATAM region”. He wants to “continue to expand our footprint in Latin America”. For KTO, the words come from Bart Lodder, a consultant speaking on the group's behalf. In his view, GameArt's “reputation for delivering innovative and high-quality games” fits the operator's “goal of providing the best gaming experience”.

The paragraph about KTO at the foot of the release is more restrained. It describes a privately owned company founded in 2018 by Andreas Bardun. KTO offers sports betting and online casino on a flagship site, KTO.COM, built on an in-house platform called the KTO Platform, and aims to be “hyper-local” in several markets.

What the text leaves in the dark

Read again in October 2026, the December 2023 text stands out as much for what it leaves out as for what it says. It reads like a poker hand: the cards turned face up matter, but the ones left face down sometimes tell you more.

• No titles: not a single slot is named, even though the deal is precisely about slots.
• No timeline: the portfolio “will” be brought in, with no go-live date.
• No technical route: direct integration or an aggregator? The text does not say how the games reach KTO's platform.
• No legal framework: there is no word on the operator's licence or on the Brazilian law, which Congress was still debating.
• An existing client: if KTO was already the studio's main Brazilian client, the commercial relationship came before the announcement. The partnership formalised it more than it opened it.

One last detail deserves attention. Bart Lodder speaks for KTO as a consultant, not as an executive. He turns up in the same role in March 2025, when KTO welcomes Playson. The voice is consistent, but it does not commit KTO the way its founder's would.

KTO Group: a Maltese brand built for Brazil

Born in Malta in 2018, KTO Group launched its brand in Brazil in 2019, according to the timeline compiled by NEXT.io. It moved into Peru in 2020. Four years later, the group cleaned house: it pulled its brand out of Peru and Chile to focus on Brazil, which was about to open its regulated market.

Andreas Bardun explained the move in iGaming Business Brasil on 14 August 2024: “nossa meta agora é operar apenas em mercados totalmente regulamentados”. In other words, the goal was now to operate only in fully regulated markets. He did not rule out a return to Peru with a licence in 2025. Nor did he rule out one or two new Latin American countries within three or four years. At the racetrack, this would be a straight win bet: one horse, one race, the whole stake on it.

As timing would have it, GameArt had just taken the opposite road. On 4 July 2024, six weeks before that article, the Maltese provider teamed up with Universal Soft, a Peruvian horse racing betting platform that aggregates games from outside providers. The operator and its supplier were not reading the map of the continent the same way.

In Brazil, KTO put down roots in Rio Grande do Sul. Its offices in Porto Alegre and Santa Cruz do Sul opened in 2024, and its operating company was Apollo Operations Ltda. Its name appeared alongside Chapecoense in Série B, the Caxias do Sul basketball team and Minas Tênis Clube. In 2023, the operator had also helped found the Instituto Brasileiro de Jogo Responsável (IBJR). That body would resurface in 2026 among those challenging the ban before the Supreme Federal Court.

How much was the Latin American “top 10” worth?

The “top 10” that GameArt credited to KTO in December 2023 was not backed by any published study or method. The benchmarks that came later measure different things, and they only start to speak when you set them side by side.

Awareness is not market share. A brand with a big social media following can weigh very little in actual stakes, and the reverse also happens. The most telling evidence comes from Bardun himself. He aimed for 10% of the market while admitting he was far from it, as he told iGaming Business in August 2024. That is the only figure in this table that comes from the inside. It is also the most honest.

Law 14.790: the Brazilian framework that arrived twenty-five days after the deal

Law 14.790 of 29 December 2023 regulates fixed-odds betting in Brazil and brings online gaming under its scope. Online gaming is defined as an electronic channel for betting on a game whose outcome depends on a random future event (article 2, VIII). Brazil rolled out its green baize twenty-five days after the GameArt and KTO handshake.

Three rules shaped the operator's playing field. An authorisation could be granted for five years (article 5, III). The fixed fee was capped at R$30 million for the use of three brands (article 12, sole paragraph). Operators were also barred from offering any advance, bonus or upfront advantage to attract bettors (article 29, I). On the Brazilian presidency's official website, these articles now carry the word “revogado”. The September 2026 provisional measure revoked them.

KTO filed its application in July 2024, inside the 90-day priority window that closed on 20 August. Andreas Bardun felt that window should have lasted “at least 180 days”. KTO was among the first fourteen companies to receive a definitive authorisation, on a list published on 31 December 2024. The regulated market opened the next day.

What a slot had to prove to stay online

SPA/MF Ordinance 1.207 of 29 July 2024 sets the technical requirements for online games and live game studios offered in Brazil. It works like a customs post with two desks. The game shows its passport, and the operator shows which door it came in through.

On the studio side: certify every game

Each game must be certified by an entity whose operational capacity the SPA has recognised (article 5). It must also meet a minimum theoretical RTP of 85%, calculated over the game's expected lifetime (annex I, item 28). In plain terms, 85% of the money wagered must go back to players as winnings over millions of spins. The figure guarantees nothing over a ten-minute session, where chance rules.

Company paperwork is therefore not enough. GameArt can point to its Maltese licence or to the ISO 27001 certification it obtained in March 2025. In Brazil, though, the game itself sits the exam, title by title.

On the operator side: prove the connection

The operator can submit a certificate issued in the name of the provider or developer it has signed with (article 7). If it uses a technical solution separate from its own betting system, it must also produce an integration certificate between the platforms (article 7, sole paragraph).

The question left open by the 2023 press release, direct integration or aggregator, had become part of the regulatory file by 2025. What used to be back-office plumbing ended up on the regulator's desk.

The providers that joined KTO after GameArt

Between September 2024 and June 2026, at least four new providers announced their arrival at KTO, from sportsbook to slots.

The game library keeps growing, and GameArt soon fills just one shelf of it. The table also shows a company getting organised. For sports betting, KTO turned to Kambi for a turnkey product, as reported by SBC News in September 2024. By 2026, its casino spoke through a manager dedicated to Brazil, quoted at the Gaming Corps launch. In 2023, the words had come from a consultant.

How did KTO stop operating in Brazil?

Provisional Measure 1.394/2026 was signed by President Lula on 25 September 2026 and took effect on publication. It bans the operation, offer, intermediation and advertising of fixed-odds betting in Brazil, online games included. Foreign companies targeting Brazilian players are covered too. Thirty days after publication, it extinguished every authorisation in force. The government justifies the measure on public health grounds: according to its explanatory memorandum, existing control mechanisms would not protect health adequately.

Here, I will stick to what the measure did to KTO. Its mechanics, the legal challenges and its effects on affiliates are covered in my breakdown of MP 1.394/2026, written about JogosDeApostas.com. At the roulette table, the croupier calls “no more bets” as the ball slows down. In Brazil, the call came in the middle of the game, with chips still on the felt.

For KTO, events unfolded as follows:

• Late June 2026: the Ministry of Finance opens proceedings against KTO, bet365 and Betnacional over ads aired on CazéTV during the World Cup. It suspends those ads as a precaution and mentions possible fines of up to R$2 billion.
• 25 September: the provisional measure takes effect and immediately bans deposits.
• 5 October, 11:59 pm: voluntary withdrawals by players come to an end.
• 6 October: authorised operators' sites and apps must go offline. KTO's Brazilian address then redirects to the official “Brasil sem Bets” portal.
• 8 October: more than 200 employees were reportedly let go, according to posts by former staff relayed by NEXT.io.
• 14 October: after Anthony MacKay, head of affiliates, announced on LinkedIn that KTO Group was closing, Andreas Bardun replies that “the reports of KTO Group's death are greatly exaggerated”.
• 15 October: the founder confirms a “significant” number of job cuts to Intergame. He calls it one of the hardest moments of his professional life and points out that his licence runs until 25 October.
• 25 October: the authorisations of 85 companies and 188 brands expire, with no refund of the R$30 million each company paid, as BNLData points out.

An authorisation meant to last five years will have lived less than twenty-two months, just over a third of its term. People like to think of a licence as a vested right. KTO's story makes it look more like a lease that the landlord can take back on thirty days' notice.

KTO is not an isolated case. Less than two weeks after the measure was signed, a partial survey by the Associação Nacional de Jogos e Loterias (ANJL) already counted some 3,500 layoffs in the sector, or 23% of its workforce.

Bardun's reply borrows from Mark Twain, who brushed off a premature report of his own death in much the same way. It holds some truth. As far as I know, no liquidation of KTO Group had been announced as of 27 October 2026, and the founder says he wants to comply with Brazilian law while he weighs the next steps. It does not change the arithmetic, though. The group had only one market left, and no licence to operate in it.

What happens next will be decided in Brasília. On 26 October, the day after the presidential run-off, Justice Luiz Fux left the measure in force and called a public hearing for 3 November, Revista Fórum reports. Without a vote in Congress, the measure would lose all effect on 4 March 2027. A retroactive court ruling could also, in theory, revive the authorisations, a scenario BNLData explored the day before.

What does GameArt lose with KTO's exit from Brazil?

GameArt holds licence MGA/B2B/966/2022, issued by the Malta Gaming Authority on 6 February 2023. With KTO, it loses the client it presented in 2023 as the most important in its Brazilian portfolio. Yet the studio's Latin American journey, marked by deals between 2023 and 2025, shows it had not relied on that one client alone.

In March 2024, its slots joined Vibra Gaming's platform, a Buenos Aires group that distributes them across Latin America. From 23 to 25 April 2024, GameArt exhibited at SiGMA Americas in São Paulo, on stand F105 alongside BlueOcean Gaming. It brought a Brazil-focused game selection: Golden Furong, Dragon King Megaways™, Great Buffalo Hold'n Win, Frozen Joker and Big Fruit Show. The CacaNiquesOnline demos followed in November 2024, then the deal with the affiliate site JogosDeApostas.com in August 2025.

What KTO's exit cuts off is a revenue stream. In the B2B model, a studio is usually paid on the revenue its games generate at the operator. When the gaming floor stops taking bets, the takings stop with it. GameArt loses a gaming floor, not its workshop.

The workshop keeps producing for other markets. Since the JogosDeApostas.com deal, GameArt's news feed no longer mentions Brazil. Its 2026 announcements target Italy (Casino di Venezia in May, Vincitu in September), Spain (Solcasino in May) and a Bulgarian aggregator (EGT Digital in August). They also include Belgium, where the company celebrated its long partnership with Starcasino on 22 October. To find Peru, Argentina and Brazil in its story, you now have to look in the rear-view mirror.

What the KTO case teaches studios and readers

Brazil's regulated market opened on 1 January 2025, and the provisional measure was signed on 25 September 2026: less than twenty-one months apart. That is a short run for an operator that had rebuilt everything around a single country. It should give pause to anyone reading a partnership announcement.

A studio, for its part, has a simple defence: never stake its future on a single roll of the dice. GameArt's spread across many partner operators in the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Spain caps what any one market can cost it.

Whether you are a curious player or an industry watcher, this case gives you a reading grid you can reuse:

• Verb tense: “will bring” signals an intention. Only a dated go-live proves that a game is available.
• Who is speaking: a consultant speaking on behalf of an operator does not commit it the way its founder does.
• Authorisation: the regulator's official list shows who runs a brand, through which company and since when. Check it before you read the press release.
• Rankings: without a published method, a “top 10” is just a slogan.
• A solid framework: a recent law can be rewritten. In Brazil, one provisional measure was enough to ban a market that had opened on 1 January 2025.

That leaves the player. For players, the most useful lesson is also the simplest: a balance left with an operator depends on that operator keeping its licence. In Brazil, it took a bank timetable set by the state for the money to come back. Elsewhere, nothing guarantees such a safety net.

FAQs:

What did the GameArt and KTO Group deal announce?

On 4 December 2023, GameArt presented KTO as its largest Brazilian client and announced that its HTML5 games would join the operator's catalogue. No list of titles and no date came with the announcement.

Has KTO Group closed down?

Not officially. KTO has stopped operating in Brazil, its only market, and cut many jobs, but its founder insists the group is not dead.

Why is KTO no longer operating in Brazil?

Because Provisional Measure 1.394/2026, in force since 25 September 2026, bans online betting and casino games nationwide. KTO had to take its site offline on 6 October, then lost its authorisation on 25 October.

Who runs KTO Group?

Andreas Bardun, who founded the company in Malta in 2018 and was still leading it in October 2026.

How much did KTO pay for its Brazilian licence?

Thirty million reais, the price of a five-year authorisation covering up to three brands. The provisional measure cancelled it without a refund.

Can you still play GameArt slots in Brazil?

Not legally for real money while the provisional measure applies. It also targets foreign operators serving Brazilian players.

What happens to former KTO players' balances?

Voluntary withdrawals ended on 5 October 2026 at 11:59 pm. Remaining balances went to the banks, which had to pay them into an account in the player's name by 14 October. Any amounts that could not be refunded then go through Caixa Econômica Federal.

Was KTO present outside Brazil?

Yes, in Peru from 2020 and in Chile. It left both markets in 2024 to concentrate on Brazil.

How can I check that an online casino is licensed?

Look for the regulator's name and the licence number on the site, then search for the operator on that regulator's official register. Check the status as well as the name: KTO's five-year Brazilian authorisation lapsed after less than two years.

Is the Brazilian ban final?

No. Congress still has to vote on the provisional measure, which lapses on 4 March 2027 without a vote. The Supreme Federal Court is also holding a public hearing on the legal challenges on 3 November 2026.

Sources:

• GameArt, “GameArt Strengthens Presence in LATAM through Strategic Partnership with KTO Group”, 4 December 2023
• GameArt, “Meet GameArt at SiGMA Americas 2024”, 9 April 2024
• GameArt, Company Updates news feed, checked on 27 October 2026
• iGaming Business Brasil, “KTO se retira do Chile e do Peru para focar no mercado de apostas do Brasil”, 14 August 2024
• iGaming Business, interview with Andreas Bardun on the Brazilian market, 20 August 2024
• SBC News, KTO signs with Kambi, 12 September 2024
• Diário do Nordeste, list of authorised betting operators, 31 December 2024
• iGamingFuture, Playson joins KTO, 12 March 2025
• iGaming Business, Gaming Corps launches its portfolio at KTO, 3 June 2026
• AGBrief, Push Gaming joins KTO, 30 June 2026
• TNH1 and Folhapress, Ministry of Finance proceedings against CazéTV advertisers, 30 June 2026
• Presidência da República, Law 14.790 of 29 December 2023, consolidated text
• BNLData, SPA/MF Ordinance 1.207 of 29 July 2024
• Agência Senado, “MP proíbe bets e determina encerramento das operações em 30 dias”, 28 September 2026
• Yogonet, ANJL survey on job losses, 9 October 2026
• NEXT.io, “KTO to close down after Brazil betting ban”, 12 October 2026
• SBC News, “KTO Group allegedly closes doors following Brazil ban”, 14 October 2026
• Intergame, “KTO Group co-founder confirms significant job losses”, 16 October 2026
• BNLData, licences expire as Luiz Fux weighs the challenges, 25 October 2026
• Revista Fórum, Luiz Fux's decision and the 3 November hearing, 26 October 2026