Brazil’s Top Bettor Wagered Over $1B as Cops Probe Massive Money Laundering Ring

A Brazilian lawyer under investigation for suspected money laundering wagered over $1 billion online in 2025 and part of 2026, while a betting site linked to him generated just $42,000 in revenue over 18 months, according to newly revealed documents.

Willer Tomaz, a close friend of presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, is being investigated by Brazil’s Federal Police over suspicious financial transactions on online gambling platforms and whether some of those transactions may have been used to disguise the movement of money.

Court documents obtained by CNN Brasil show that Tomaz wagered R$6.6 billion ($1.3 billion) on casino games on Blaze alone, making more than 53,000 bets and sustaining net losses of approximately $29 million.

According to a separate Finance Ministry report, Tomaz placed R$5 billion (approximately $995 million) in bets during 2025, largely through Blaze.

Authorities noted that these figures represent wagering turnover—including winnings repeatedly staked—rather than total deposited cash. Nevertheless, the volume was enough to make Tomaz Brazil’s biggest online gambler in 2025.

Officials stated he deposited more than R$258 million ($51 million) and withdrew roughly R$200 million ($40 million). His total deposits were nearly double those of Brazil’s second-largest bettor.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva effectively dismantled the country’s newly regulated online betting market last month, ordering licensed sportsbooks and online casinos to shutter operations by Oct. 6. Efforts to return player funds in the wake of the shutdown have brought suspicious accounts to light, including Tomaz’s.

Blaze Under Fire

The Finance Ministry report criticized Blaze’s anti-money-laundering protocols, alleging the operator failed to adequately monitor Tomaz’s extraordinary activity. The report highlighted one instance where Tomaz made 14 deposits of R$500,000 apiece in a single day, and another where he executed 12 withdrawals of the same amount in just 18 minutes.

Blaze maintained that it complies with all applicable regulations and enforces rigorous transaction monitoring. Tomaz insists his funds were legally acquired and fully declared to tax authorities, while disputing the government’s financial accounting.

Separately, Tomaz sued Blaze to recover R$163 million ($32 million) in alleged gambling losses, claiming he suffers from gambling addiction.

A São Paulo judge rejected his claim last week, noting that Tomaz had personally requested exclusive private blackjack tables with betting limits of up to R$500,000 ($99,000) per hand.

Betting Site Falls Short

On Wednesday, Oct. 21, Folha de S.Paulo reported that BestBet—an online gambling platform controlled through corporate entities linked to Tomaz—generated just R$210,000 ($42,000) between December 2023 and June 2025.

Its operating entity, Rede Loto, had paid R$5 million ($1 million) for a five-year license from Rio de Janeiro’s state lottery regulator, Loterj. BestBet had previously projected R$2.1 million in revenue by the end of 2025—ten times its reported earnings over the 18-month audit period.

Tomaz claims BestBet never actually operated commercially. However, Folha reported that regulatory filings submitted to Loterj documented active revenue, while internal corporate correspondence detailed marketing campaigns across social media, email, and physical signage.

Presidential Connection

The revelations come as Brazil’s Federal Police seek to establish whether Flávio Bolsonaro, who faces da Silva in Sunday’s presidential runoff, held an undisclosed interest in BestBet, according to an investigation by magazine piauí.

BestBet was owned by Rede Loto, itself controlled by Cathedral Holdings, a firm established by Tomaz on Madeira Island, Portugal. Cathedral and another Madeira entity, Alcazar Holdings, share the same owner, administrator, and registered corporate address.

Documents reviewed by piauí allegedly identified Bolsonaro and Tomaz as privileged “master users” of an Alcazar bank account, a claim both men deny. The publication reported that federal investigators have requested Supreme Court authorization to examine whether Bolsonaro served as a concealed investor.

Furthermore, a Cathedral-linked entity covered private-jet travel for Bolsonaro during trips to Europe, according to Folha.

Tomaz has denied all wrongdoing and insists Bolsonaro never held any ownership interest in his ventures.