Brazil's Biggest Bettor Wagered $1.3B Amid Money-Laundering Probe and Political Ties

Brazil's Federal Police are investigating Willer Tomaz, a lawyer with close ties to presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro, over suspicious financial transactions linked to online gambling platforms. Court documents obtained by CNN Brasil reveal that Tomaz wagered R$6.6 billion ($1.3 billion) on casino games through Blaze alone, making more than 53,000 individual bets and sustaining net losses of approximately $29 million. A separate Finance Ministry report confirmed that Tomaz placed R$5 billion in bets during 2025, primarily via Blaze, establishing him as Brazil's largest online gambler that year.

The scale of Tomaz's wagering activity has raised significant regulatory concerns. According to authorities, he deposited more than R$258 million ($51 million) and withdrew approximately R$200 million ($40 million), with his deposits nearly double those of Brazil's next-biggest bettor. The Finance Ministry specifically criticized Blaze's anti-money-laundering controls, alleging the operator failed to adequately scrutinize Tomaz's extraordinary betting patterns. The report cited instances of 14 deposits of R$500,000 each on a single day and 12 withdrawals of the same amount completed within 18 minutes. Blaze has maintained that it complies with gambling regulations and operates rigorous transaction-monitoring procedures. Tomaz disputes the government's figures and insists his funds were legally obtained and declared to tax authorities.

The investigation has expanded beyond Tomaz's personal betting activity to scrutinize a separate gambling operation. Documents reveal that BestBet, an online gambling site controlled through companies linked to Tomaz, earned only R$210,000 ($42,000) between December 2023 and June 2025, despite its operator Rede Loto having paid R$5 million for a five-year license from Rio de Janeiro's state lottery regulator. BestBet had forecasted R$2.1 million in revenue by the end of 2025, representing a tenfold shortfall from actual performance. While Tomaz claims BestBet never actually operated, Folha de S.Paulo reported that filings submitted to Loterj documented revenue, and company correspondence described active advertising through social media, email, and physical signage.

The case has taken on additional political dimensions. Brazil's Federal Police are investigating whether Flavio Bolsonaro, who faced incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Sunday's presidential runoff, held an undisclosed interest in BestBet, according to an investigation by magazine piaui. Documents reportedly identified both Bolsonaro and Tomaz as privileged "master users" of an Alcazar bank account, which both men deny. A Cathedral-linked business, controlled through a Madeira company established by Tomaz, also allegedly paid for private-jet flights taken by Bolsonaro in Europe. Both Tomaz and Bolsonaro have denied wrongdoing, with Bolsonaro's campaign describing their relationship as purely a friendship.

These developments occur as Brazil's regulated online gambling market faces significant uncertainty. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva effectively dismantled the country's newly regulated online betting sector last month, ordering licensed sportsbooks and online casinos to shut down by October 6 through executive decree. The ban faces legal challenges and still requires congressional approval to become permanent. The Tomaz investigation underscores ongoing concerns about operator compliance with anti-money-laundering requirements and the regulatory challenges facing emerging gaming markets navigating both legitimate commercial activity and financial crime prevention.