Brazil online betting brands cut staff after government veto, with 36 companies affected

A Folha de S.Paulo report says at least 36 of the 188 online betting brands operating with authorization in Brazil have started layoffs after the federal government’s veto. For PSPs, acquirers, and service providers, the key point is that the hit is not limited to operators: it is already spilling over into vendors and support functions.

1. The data come from a survey by Amig, the Associação de Mulheres da Indústria do Gaming, published by Monday (5/10). According to the report, the cuts so far are concentrated in small and mid-sized companies.
2. ANJL, the Associação Nacional de Jogos e Loterias, has asked all companies in the sector to fill out a form on the dismissals. The group said it still cannot say how many people have been laid off or how large the impact will be, but that the wave began last week.
3. A study by consultancy LCA, commissioned by the betting companies themselves, estimates that Brazil’s online betting sector directly employs about 10,000 people in the country and creates another 5,000 indirect jobs.
4. H2Bet said it laid off 170 of its 270 employees. Operations director Diego Breda de Carvalho disclosed the figure on Instagram, and also said the company may keep activities in the H2 Club poker club and in card-game sponsorships, including BSOP (Campeonato Brasileiro de Pôquer).
5. Rivalo cut almost its entire team of about 100 people. Former employees said termination notices started the week before the report was published. Rivalo’s Brazil director, Daniel Eskinazi, tied the cuts to provisional measure No. 1.394 of 2026, which stopped the company’s operations.

The Rey do Pitaco site, which received early investment from Grupo Globo, also removed more than half of its 100-person team: 40 people were dismissed and 30 were put on collective vacation, according to former employees and an executive at the company. Ana Gaming, owner of Bet 7K and Cassino, also made layoffs, though it did not disclose numbers.