A new scandal hits the final days of Brazil’s presidential race, as Flávio Bolsonaro faces allegations of involvement in a money laundering scheme linked to gambling businesses
Lula has seized on the allegations…Yet beyond campaign battles , Brazil’s Bets regime moves to a zombie existence, shut down and with no clear path to revival – reports Leonardo Biazzi.
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The final days of campaigning of Brazil’s divisive Presidential run-off have been handed a further twist, as a partisan electorate heads to the polls on Sunday 25 October to decide once more between Lula or a Bolsonaro.
A combustible backdrop has compounded as Brazil awoke to the news that marginal favourite Senator Flávio Bolsonaro is accused of an involvement in a money laundering scheme via businesses involved in online gambling.
Polícia Federal is investigating Flávio’s relationship with Lawyer Willer Tomaz, who is reported to have been a money mule of millions of reais processed via multiple online gambling platforms associated with the lawyer’s businesses.
The lawyer is referred to as a “friend of Flávio”, as the investigation examines whether their relationship involved financial and business connections, attached to the money laundering scheme.
The allegations were detailed by the investigative magazine of piauí and followed up by Folha de S.Paulo that Tomaz generated R$6.3bn (circa €1bn) in wagering transactions between 2025 and 2026, primarily via bets placed on the Blaze platform.
As stands no charges have been issued against Tomaz, who in defence cites that the wagering figure cited has been exaggerated as accumulated betting turnover, and that he can account to period deposits totalled R$326m (approximately €57m) and withdrawals R$234m (approximately €41m). The accused maintains that the money came from legitimate sources.
The investigation aims to further question Flávio Bolsonaro on why he had concealed an ‘indirect stake’ in Best Bet, operated by Rede Loto, authorised under a licence from the Rio de Janeiro State Lottery (LOTERJ). Rede Loto is majority owned by Cathedral Holdings, a Madeira-based (Portugal) business in which Tomaz is a partner.
Suspicion centres on links between Cathedral and Alcazar Holdings, another Tomaz-controlled company based in Madeira. Documents cited by piauí allegedly named Bolsonaro as a “master user” of an Alcazar bank account, potentially giving him access to financial records and powers to approve transactions.
Both men deny that Bolsonaro shared access to the account or held a stake in Best Bet as the allegations remain unproven.
As a senator, Flávio Bolsonaro holds “special jurisdiction rights” that allow certain criminal cases involving his parliamentary duties to be heard by Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF). A key determination will be whether the investigation accuses Bolsonaro’s conduct of having abused his position as a Senator, that should see him trailed by the Supreme Court.
As noted by SBC Noticias Brazil: “If Flávio Bolsonaro wins the election on Sunday, the 25th, and becomes president in 2027, he will be protected under Article 86 of the Federal Constitution . This provision prevents the president from being held criminally liable, during his term, for “acts unrelated to the exercise of his duties.”
Lula handed ammo on a platter
The allegations are a godsend to President Lula and fresh ammunition in the final days of campaigning, staunchly defending his intervention to terminate the Bets Law regime via a provisional measure issued on 25 September and sanctioned as 6 october.
Lula has challenged Flávio Bolsonaro to release bank statements, tax and telephone records, offering reciprocal disclosure covering himself and family members.
Lula’s Workers Party (PT) campaign also demanded access to records concerning Alcazar Holdings, the Madeira-based company controlled by lawyer Willer Tomaz.
Both campaigns have submitted a disclosure agreement to the electoral court. However, its scope remains contested – Lula’s team says Alcazar is included, while Bolsonaro’s representatives say releasing the company’s financial information requires Tomaz’s authorisation.
The publication of records also remains subject to judicial approval, which has yet to be called upon.
Zombie Nation
As stands, Congress must decide the future of Lula’s total ban on gambling. Yet Sunday’s presidential run-off will be the judge, jury and executioner of the Bets regime as its stands.
Many observers believe that a Bolsonaro camp victory would offer operators no immediate guarantee of a return. Although he has promised to find a solution for football clubs and betting businesses, he has stopped short of committing to restore a full authorisation.
The Bolsonaro family are publicly not supporters of Brazil’s online gambling regime, which they believe contains many social liabilities.
Even a political reversal would leave difficult questions over licences, fees and disrupted commercial contracts.
Lula’s measure provides for existing authorisations to expire without refunds, while Flamengo and other Serie A clubs have already launched a Supreme Court challenge for direct compensation.
A helter-skelter years saw Brazil’s betting market move from a grey market into regulation, only to see its legal foundations kneecapped by a divisive electoral posturing.
As 2026 draws towards a close, any revival risks producing a patchwork regime, shaped by electoral bargaining, congressional amendments and court appeals… Licensees will be asking what the point of revival and participation in a zombie regime is as the colour of the market no longer matters.
