Nick van Gorsel’s €800m declaration surfaces in Curaçao licence files

I am Marcus Webb. Documents extracted from a hacked Curaçao licence system and reported by Follow the Money show that Nick van Gorsel declared a personal net worth of €800 million in a 2024 regulatory filing for Prolific Trade N.V., the company behind Blaze.com. The same set of files lists the American Nicholas Beugg with a declared personal net worth of €500 million; both names were recorded as ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) of Prolific Trade, according to the reporting.

Nick van Gorsel €800 million claim in Curaçao dossier

Van Gorsel is recorded in the dossier as having given a personal wealth figure of €800 million to the Curaçao Gaming Authority during a 2024 licence application process, the reporting by Follow the Money (FTM) states. That figure was attributed by Van Gorsel in a written explanation to the success of Blaze. The documents do not amount to an independent valuation of his liquid assets, equity holdings, or liabilities. FTM also reports that Beugg declared €500 million in the same materials.

These entries are UBO declarations; they identify who the licence applicant says has ultimate economic interest or control. A UBO record does not itself disclose the precise split of shares, profit entitlements or voting rights between named individuals. A declaration on paper is not the same as an audit or a market valuation, and no public breakdown is attached to the Curaçao filing showing how the €800 million is composed (shares, cash, property, debt).

Blaze owner structure and Prolific Trade N.V.

Prolific Trade N.V. appears in the Curaçao documents as the corporate vehicle tied to Blaze.com. The UBO naming of Van Gorsel and Beugg gives regulators a route to identify the individuals a licence applicant says are economically significant. The hacked dossier reached researchers after cybersecurity investigator Lilith Wittmann gained access to the Curaçao Gaming Authority’s systems late in 2025; the breach and subsequent release of tens of thousands of documents were reported under the Casino Secrets project. FTM analysed ownership declarations and assessment reports from those files and attributed the UBO listings to Prolific Trade.

The UBO listing is consequential for oversight, but on its own it does not resolve how ownership rights are allocated across holding companies or jurisdictions. The background material provided to Gambling Club for this follow-up notes corporate footprints beyond Curaçao, including entities on Malta, the Isle of Man and in the United Kingdom. Those jurisdictions may hold additional corporate records relevant to any valuation or ownership mapping, but they were not part of the Curaçao filing cited by FTM.

Public commercial profile: Neymar, Santos FC, NR Sports and market visibility

Blaze pursued high-visibility marketing in Brazil. Santos FC publicly introduced Van Gorsel in 2023 as a co-founder when announcing a sponsorship arrangement. NR Sports, the commercial group around Neymar, listed Van Gorsel as chief operating officer (COO) of Blaze.com in its announcement of a collaboration and described plans for promotional activity on the footballer’s social channels. Those public corporate descriptions establish a commercial relationship between Van Gorsel, Blaze and the Neymar campaign; they do not prove a personal friendship between Van Gorsel and Neymar.

The brand’s marketing strategy—sponsorship with a major club and association with a global football star—helped Blaze to rapid visibility in Brazil as the country’s online gambling market expanded. That venue of marketing is relevant to regulation and consumer protection because celebrity and club-led campaigns reach audiences beyond typical gambling media channels.

Blaze in Brazil: local licence and regulatory action

Blaze is offered in Brazil under a domestic licence holder. The Brazilian Ministry of Finance’s official list of recognised gambling operators names Foggo Entertainment Ltda. as the licence holder for the Blaze and Jonbet brands in Brazil and for their Brazilian domains. A Curaçao licence alone does not authorise operation in Brazil; the Foggo listing shows the legal route used to offer the brand under Brazil’s regulatory framework.

Regulatory and enforcement scrutiny in Brazil is active. The Public Prosecutor of the Federal District opened a civil investigation into potential irregularities at Blaze in June 2026, citing an analysis of more than 42,000 registered complaints. That figure describes complaints analysed by the prosecutor’s office, not proven infractions. Investigators sought clarity on the handling of player funds and on contracts with influencers, including Neymar.

In July 2026 a separate civil action addressed promotional activity by Blaze and influencer Virgínia Fonseca. The prosecutor argued that certain promotional content could give consumers the impression that gambling is easy money or a guaranteed income stream. A court imposed provisional restrictions on advertising it considered inconsistent with the stated rules; the substantive legal assessment remains pending.

Complaints, corporate responsibility and limits of available evidence

Public sources record player complaints about blocked balances and payout problems in Brazil. Those complaints do not, by themselves, establish wrongdoing by Blaze; individual complaints require case-by-case assessment. The documents released from the Curaçao system and the Brazilian authority’s complaint analysis do not show that Van Gorsel personally blocked accounts, refused payments or drafted the contested marketing messages. His public roles—co-founder and at times described as COO—make questions about governance, policy and oversight relevant, but personal liability requires separate evidence.

The Curaçao documents and the subsequent reporting raise broader questions about how cross-border corporate structures are reviewed by regulators. Curaçao-registered entities often sit at the centre of international gambling operations aimed at foreign players. The material related to Van Gorsel shows what a single declared figure—€800 million—can reveal and conceal at the same time: it names an owner, but it leaves open how value and control are distributed across companies and jurisdictions.

What remains to be verified

The reporting establishes the existence of a 2024 self-declared €800 million net worth for Van Gorsel in Curaçao licence paperwork and a €500 million declaration by Beugg. It also establishes public commercial ties between Blaze, Neymar, Santos FC and NR Sports, and it confirms Foggo Entertainment Ltda. as the Brazil licence holder for Blaze and Jonbet. What remains unresolved in the public record is a verifiable, itemised decomposition of Van Gorsel’s declared €800 million, an audited ownership split for Blaze across Prolific Trade and related entities, and any direct personal responsibility for operational failings alleged by players. Regulators and civil authorities in Brazil and jurisdictions where corporate entities are registered would hold the relevant records to answer those questions.

For operators, investors and compliance teams, the episode underscores the importance of distinguishing self-declared UBO figures from audited valuations and of tracing corporate links across multiple jurisdictions. For journalists and regulators it highlights the gaps that can remain even after a high-profile document disclosure.