SPA note flags Blaze operator's AML checks over top bettor

A technical note from Brazil's Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA), part of the Ministry of Finance and dated 1 October 2026, identified lawyer Willer Tomaz as the individual with the largest deposit volume on fixed-odds betting platforms in Brazil in 2025. The note was first reported by UOL and later obtained by O Globo. The document's central focus is the conduct of Foggo Entertainment, which operates the Blaze brand, the outlet reported.

According to the document, Tomaz's deposited amount was almost double that of the second-placed person. The figure of about R$5bn described as "bet" is turnover, which adds each bet placed, including re-bets of amounts won in the previous round, and does not equal new money deposited. In a civil action he is pursuing in the courts of São Paulo, Tomaz presented Blaze's annual statement, which records R$4.8bn in winnings and almost R$5bn in losses on casino games in 2025, a net negative result of R$163.2m, according to the report. Withdrawals on the platform in the same period totalled R$200m, according to the SPA.

The SPA technical staff cited the case as an example of a failure in anti-money-laundering mechanisms and client monitoring. Despite the volume moved, Foggo Entertainment classified the client as "medium risk"; the SPA said he should have been placed in the maximum risk category because of atypical betting patterns and a possible incompatibility between his financial capacity and the volume of operations, according to the report. The SPA said it saw indications of "fault or intent" by the operator and suggested the omission may have occurred to avoid losing revenue.

Tomaz is under investigation in an inquiry at the Supreme Federal Court (STF) under rapporteur Minister Alexandre de Moraes. The inquiry stems from a Federal Police investigation in Rio Grande do Sul into currency evasion and money laundering through betting, according to the report. The Federal Police are examining whether the amounts were in fact bet or whether fictitious bets took place, and investigators said there are indications that Tomaz controls Rede Loto, authorised by the Rio de Janeiro state lottery in May 2023.

In a statement, Willer Tomaz's press office said the funds have a lawful origin, are compatible with his income and appear in his declaration to the Federal Revenue, and that the amount bet "does not represent new money". The defence also questioned the leaking of a confidential document during an election period. In the case against Blaze, however, the same defence argues that Tomaz suffers from gambling disorder and asks for the return of the amounts lost.

The press office's full statement, reproduced by BNLData, opens by saying the matter is already before the courts and has received wide press coverage, so the story amounts to recycled information. It then asserts that the funds are lawful, match his earnings and are listed in his Federal Revenue filing. The statement disputes the published figures, explaining that the so-called amount bet aggregates repeated re-bets of the same sum and therefore is not new money. It denies that Willer Tomaz used any automated tool or split transactions to get around controls. At 7K, according to the statement, he was an ordinary client with no corporate, commercial or personal tie to the company or its controllers, and he is not a target of Operation Narco Bet. The statement also voices surprise that a federal technical document with confidential data reached the press during an election period, and closes by saying that, since the matter is strictly personal and before the courts, Willer will make no further comment.