KTO pulls out of Chile, Peru to narrow focus on Brazil betting market
KTO founder and CEO Andreas Bardun told iGB its LatAm presence had been reduced to just Brazil as the company prioritises growing its market share in the region.
KTO is one of 17 operators to have already applied for a betting licence within the initial 90-day window of preference. This means KTO will be granted a licence within the first wave, in time for the 1 January launch date.
KTO Brazil was launched in 2018 and Bardun believes the company will benefit from a first-mover advantage in the licensed betting market.
“We entered Brazil maybe four or five years ago now when there wasn’t so much attraction, people couldn’t really see the potential,” Bardun told iGB. “And we realised there wasn’t any kind of localisation of the product.
“We thought this is a good opportunity for us to come in and really start making a difference by really speaking to the local population in Brazil and I think that gives us the head start.”
Its Brazilian business is supported by sponsorships with regional and national sports teams and athletes, including Serie B football club Chapecoense, basketball’s Caxias Do Sul and Minas Tênis Clube in volleyball and basketball.
A partnership with other leading operators in 2023 formed the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming.
KTO doesn’t rule out Peru return
Meanwhile, KTO entered Peru in 2020 and Bardun noted it could look to apply for a licence and re-enter the region in 2025.
While Peru is now a licensed market, KTO did not seek authorisation as the likes of Betsson and Rush Street Interactive did.
“This year the focus is just on Brazil at the moment because our target right now is to operate only in fully regulated markets,” Bardun said.
“We have so much more to do in Brazil”
Expanding into other LatAm markets is not fully off the cards for KTO, as Bardun said all opportunities on the continent are being explored.
“But the one thing in Brazil is that it’s so big, we always we have an internal joke and say that Brazil is actually not a country, it’s a continent because we have only scratched the surface on Brazil,” he said
“We’re seeing such a good return on investment in Brazil at the moment that I think even though we probably will enter at least one or two more markets in the LatAm region in the next three to four years, I would say Brazil is still going to be the full focus because we have so much more to do there.”