Sky News journalists and football players are at the centre of a scandal with deepfake advertising of illegal casinos

Sky News journalists fell victim to scammers who used deepfake technologies to create ads for illegal gambling apps. Fake videos were posted on social media and urged users to download apps hiding illegal online casinos in the UK.

Earlier this month, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) released an updated report on the risks associated with money laundering and terrorist financing. Among the new threats, the regulator singled out deepfake videos and AI-generated documents that allow bypassing identity verification procedures in casinos.

The UKGC obliges licensed online casinos to train staff to identify AI manipulations. However, the problem does not only affect operators – players also fall victim to scammers, as the recent case of Sky News journalists showed.

How it happened

Sky News journalists discovered a fake ad on Facebook, where a fake video with their participation has already gained about 250 thousand views. In the video, journalists allegedly reported on a "unique opportunity" for iPhone owners to make money by advertising the Heavenly Sphere application.

To enhance the effect of trust, the scammers also inserted a fake speech by "Tim Cook", the CEO of Apple, into the video. In reality, the original plot was dedicated to the lawsuit against Apple, but the scammers completely changed the text:

"We contacted Olivia, who won £500,000 in a week. Olivia, how did you do it?" "It's very simple: I downloaded the app and started playing."

According to deepfake technology expert Dr. Siwei Lyu, the videos were created by synchronizing the lips of real journalists with artificially generated text.

Scale of fraud

Meta reported that scammers distributed ads through dozens of accounts. At first glance, the apps looked harmless and were offered through the official App Store. But when they opened, they redirected users to illegal casinos that operated without a licence in the UK.

After Sky News appealed to the UKGC, illegal sites were shut down, and Apple removed the suspicious apps from the store. The Commission reiterated the risks associated with unlicensed gambling, which contributes to the financing of criminal organisations and puts players at risk.

According to the UKGC, it has taken down more than 81,000 websites related to illegal gambling.

Football players also became victims

It's not just Sky News journalists who have been affected by this scheme. The captain of the Netherlands national team and Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has become the face of fake advertisements for illegal casinos several times. In one case, scammers used his image to promote an unlicensed crypto casino.

Also in October 2023, there were cases of deepfake videos with Kevin De Bruyne, the star midfielder of the Belgian national team. Illegal operators No Limit Bet and ZumoSpin Casino even manipulated footage of NOS Journaal news releases to promote their platforms.