Brazil's Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) at the Ministry of Finance, in an analytical note dated 1 October 2026, pointed to AML control deficiencies at Foggo Entertainment, the operator of the Blaze brand. The note became known on 20 October, when UOL wrote about it. We could not find its text in the public domain, so the figures below are based on retellings from several outlets.
The case involves one client of the operator. In 2025 they placed 629 bets of R$500 thousand or more, deposited more than R$258 million into the platform and withdrew about R$200 million. The betting turnover is estimated at roughly R$5 billion, but this figure includes the reuse of winnings.
The SPA singles out 30 and 31 October 2025. On the first day, the account received 14 deposits of R$500 thousand each, totaling R$7 million. The next day, the client withdrew R$6 million through 12 transactions of R$500 thousand each within 18 minutes. According to the agency, the operator rated the client as medium risk and did not change that rating throughout the year. The SPA states that no analysis of these transactions was carried out.
Over the same period, Blaze filed only seven suspicious transaction reports with the Coaf financial intelligence unit. All of them concerned significantly smaller bets by other players.
A large bet on its own does not oblige an operator to report to Coaf. However, Brazilian AML requirements call for the analysis of unusual transactions, including large deposits and withdrawals. The SPA believes that this is exactly what did not happen.
No sanctions have been imposed so far. The note examines alleged violations, not a decision in the case. Blaze's position, as reflected in the materials available to us, is brief: the operator disputes the claims. According to Brazilian media reports, the client's defense denies money laundering and says the transactions were traceable.
What to watch: whether the SPA opens an administrative proceeding against Foggo Entertainment and whether the agency publishes the document itself. Licensed operators in Brazil may want to review their own risk assessment criteria for clients placing large bets while the regulator has not yet clarified its position.
