Brazil’s SPA says Willer Tomaz was the biggest fixed-odds bettor in 2025, but the real issue is Blaze’s AML controls

A technical note from Brazil’s Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA), dated October 1, 2026, identified lawyer Willer Tomaz as the individual with the largest deposit volume on fixed-odds betting platforms in Brazil in 2025. The headline number is being read as “R$ 5 billion bet,” but that is turnover, not fresh money. For PSPs and operators, the more relevant part of the document is the regulator’s view that Blaze’s operator failed at customer risk monitoring and anti-money-laundering controls.

1. The SPA document says Tomaz’s deposited amount was almost twice that of the second-ranked customer. The note was first revealed by UOL and later obtained by O Globo.
2. The oft-circulated R$ 5 billion figure sums wagers and re-wagers, including amounts won in earlier rounds and staked again. It does not equal new deposits. In a civil action he filed in São Paulo, Tomaz produced Blaze’s annual statement showing R$ 4.8 billion in wins and almost R$ 5 billion in losses in casino games in 2025, for a net result of minus R$ 163.2 million.
3. The same period saw R$ 200 million in withdrawals on the platform, according to the SPA. That is the number that matters when you are asking how much cash actually left the customer’s pocket, rather than how much churned through the account.
4. The regulator’s main target is Foggo Entertainment, the company behind Blaze. SPA technicians cite the case as an example of failures in AML prevention and customer monitoring. Even with the volume involved, the company reportedly classified the customer as “medium risk.” SPA says he should have been treated as maximum risk because of atypical betting patterns and a possible mismatch between financial capacity and transaction volume.
5. The SPA also says there are indications of “fault or intent” on the operator’s side and suggests the omission may have been driven by the desire to avoid losing revenue. That is the part PSPs should read carefully: the issue is not only whether a high-volume player exists, but whether the operator’s risk engine escalates him properly and documents why.

Tomaz is being investigated in a Supreme Federal Court inquiry under Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The investigation follows a Federal Police case in Rio Grande do Sul into foreign-exchange evasion and money laundering through bets. Investigators are also examining whether the amounts were actually wagered or whether fictitious bets were used, and say there are signs that Tomaz controls Rede Loto, authorized by the Rio de Janeiro state lottery in May 2023.

Tomaz’s legal team says the funds have lawful origin, are consistent with his income, and appear in his tax filings. It also says the amount wagered “does not represent new money” and challenges the leak of a confidential document during an election period.