Brazil Court Rejects Willer Tomaz’s Claim Against Blaze

A court in São Paulo has rejected lawyer Willer Tomaz’s claim for compensation over losses incurred while gambling on Blaze, ruling that the financial damage resulted from risks he voluntarily accepted. The decision was issued by Judge Guilherme Madeira Dezem of the 44th Civil Court of São Paulo.

Although the judge dismissed the compensation claim, the ruling also established that Tomaz should not be contacted or disturbed by the platform.

The case has attracted attention because of the scale of Tomaz’s reported gambling activity and his attempt to recover substantial losses. Separately, Brazil’s Federal Police (PF) are investigating allegations that the lawyer used betting operations to launder money.

Judge Attributes Gambling Losses to Voluntary Risk

In rejecting the request for damages, Dezem highlighted Tomaz’s active involvement in high-stakes gambling. According to the judge, the lawyer had requested exclusive betting tables and repeatedly sought higher wagering limits.

The court referred specifically to Blaze VIP Blackjack, where Tomaz allegedly requested that individual bet limits be increased to as much as R$500,000.

Dezem said the losses and resulting emotional distress were consequences of participating voluntarily in a high-risk activity involving random outcomes. The judge therefore found no basis for awarding compensation for the amounts lost through gambling.

Tomaz Reportedly Wagered R$6.6 Billion

Information submitted by Tomaz’s legal team indicates that he deposited R$325 million with Blaze between January 2025 and July 2026. During that period, his betting activity generated turnover of approximately R$6.6 billion, while his lawyers reported net losses of R$188.5 million.

The defence argued that the total losses could be higher because it had no access to the complete betting history before 2025. However, the lawyers identified 55 pages of records containing information about earlier deposits.

According to the filing, most of the losses came from online casino games featuring rounds lasting around 30 seconds. Individual wagers reportedly reached R$500,000, following requests by Tomaz to raise the limits.

His lawyers also alleged that Blaze had paid him R$42.2 million in bonuses between 2010 and 2014.

Defence Challenges Blaze’s Withdrawal Restrictions

Tomaz’s lawyers questioned the platform’s transaction rules, alleging that users could deposit up to R$500 per transaction but were limited to withdrawals of R$100 per transaction.

The filing describes an episode in which Tomaz attempted to withdraw R$1.9 million through 16 transactions between 00:19 and 00:25. The system subsequently blocked another withdrawal attempt, displaying a message asking him to try again later because he had made too many consecutive requests.

By the end of that gambling session, the account reportedly held just R$0.29.

The defence also claimed that Blaze established a WhatsApp group in April 2023 to provide what it described as exclusive support for lawyers, before Brazil legalised its sports betting market.

Lawyers further alleged that Tomaz had previously informed the platform about a gambling addiction and requested that his account be permanently frozen on three occasions.

Blaze Disputes the Claimed Financial Damage

Blaze challenged the defence’s calculation of losses, arguing that the total deposits alone did not establish the extent of any financial damage because the figures failed to account for withdrawals and other credits.

The company maintained that deposits and withdrawals must be considered together when assessing an account’s financial position over the 18-month period. It argued that bank statements showing withdrawals without accounting for the corresponding deposits would not provide an accurate picture of the net result.

Blaze has backing from Brazilian footballer Neymar Jr. and previously contracted influencer Virgínia Fonseca.

Federal Police Probe Alleged Money Laundering

Separately from the civil dispute, the Federal Police are investigating whether Tomaz was involved in money laundering through betting transactions.

The inquiry originated in Rio Grande do Sul, where investigators were examining suspected currency evasion and money laundering involving Blaze. Judicial authorisation allowed authorities to obtain telecommunications records relating to Tomaz.

The investigation was subsequently transferred to Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) after reports that emails collected during the inquiry referred to Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, who has jurisdictional privileges before the court.

Tomaz’s defence denied the money-laundering allegations, maintaining that all transactions passed through his own bank account and were traceable, with no attempt to conceal the origin or destination of the funds.

His lawyers also disputed the amounts cited in the case, stating that the figures did not reflect reality, despite having been presented in Tomaz’s own lawsuit against Blaze.