Brazil's ban has already led to 3,500 layoffs in fourteen days
Fourteen days after the decree that outlawed online betting in Brazil, the sector has already seen over 3,500 layoffs. This number was reported by the National Association of Games and Lotteries and represents 23 percent of a workforce that the entity estimates at 15,000 people, a universe that also includes suppliers and service providers. In addition, 4,167 workers have been sent on collective leave, and the association projects that the number of departures will reach 5,600 within ninety days.
The count also has a version with names. Some 730 disassociated individuals have already been identified one by one by the Association of Women in the Gaming Industry. Its founder, Natalia Nogues, highlighted what the statistics conceal: behind every number there is a person, she said, and behind the person there is often a career built over years and a family that depended on that salary.
Relocation is the second problem and stems from the salary level that the industry offered. A study conducted by LCA Consultores for the association and IBJR had measured an average salary of R$7,000 (US$1,359) in 2025, with 63.8 percent of personnel earning above four minimum wages. Those who have left now describe a traditional market with a lot of prejudice against anyone who has worked in the sector, and they say that in the few interviews they manage to get, they are offered significant salary reductions.
The cuts were not evenly distributed among operators. Betano and Superbet decided to retain their own staff because they consider it difficult to replace them if the market reopens, but in the case of the former, the adjustment was passed on to the supply chain: a call center company based in Curitiba that worked for the brand laid off 500 people, and the Alob Sports agency, responsible for Flamengo's activations, dismissed 34, according to UOL. Its founding partner, Bernardo Pontes, avoided confirming that number, although he acknowledged that the cut was inevitable once the sponsorship fell through. Among those who did affect their own payroll, former Rivalo employees speak of about 100 terminated contracts, something Daniel Eskinazi, head of the Brazilian operation, confirmed, clarifying that he maintains a minimal team in case activity resumes, while H2Bet acknowledged 150 departures. Ana Gaming, which has already announced further disassociations, issued its own written warning: reversing the measure does not undo the damage already caused.
In this context, Kaizen Gaming, owner of Betano, issued a written statement. In a LinkedIn post, it committed to maintaining the positions of its Brazilian staff while the National Congress continues to analyze Provisional Measure No. 1,394/2026, with a message directed at its own teams: their jobs are secure until the end of the process, says the text, which refers to colleagues in the Brazilian operation. The text points out that the damage affects technology, telecommunications, media, services, and education SMEs, as well as the sports economy, and recalls that the regime opened in January 2025 included self-exclusion, betting limits, and a veto on Bolsa Família beneficiaries, in addition to the R$8.747 billion that the State collected from online gaming and sports betting in the first half of 2026.
The operator's underlying argument is about displacement, not revenue. For Betano's owner, the prohibition does not erase demand but pushes it towards platforms without self-exclusion, without limits, and without tax contributions, and the association itself put a number to that destination: its survey counts 30,000 active illegal betting sites in the country. The post concludes with a three-part definition: Betting involves real risks. Prohibiting is not protecting. Rules, oversight, and education are, before reaffirming that the company is staying in the country for the long term. The message has already left LinkedIn and reached the field. Flamengo wore it on their jersey on October 8, in the draw against Santos at Vila Belmiro, and used it again on October 11 in the Maracanã classic, where Fluminense, sponsored by Superbet, joined with the same message.
The two figures of the day should be read together because they measure the same thing from two extremes. The 3,500 layoffs are the verifiable and documented cost of the measure, with names, companies, and timelines, while the 30,000 illegal sites are an estimate by the sector association of the supply that filled the void, without official confirmation or published methodology. The government, for its part, has been reporting tens of thousands of blocking orders in the last three weeks, which at least matches the order of magnitude. The asymmetry of evidence between the two ends is what defines the parliamentary discussion that is now beginning, because lost employment can be audited in labor records, and migration to clandestine sites is still debated with partisan measurements. A third piece of data that neither campaign mentions, and which will weigh heavily in the debate, should be added: the timeframe. Terminations are executed in days, and recovering a skilled position takes months, so even if Congress were to restore the regulatory framework tomorrow, the sector would reopen with some of its personnel already relocated to other industries or outside the country, and that cost cannot be reversed with a vote.
Tags: Brazil betting ban, Layoffs, ANJL, Kaizen Gaming