Bruno Fernandes Is the Latest World Cup Star to Be ‘Deepfaked’ By an Illegal Betting Operator

Just days after it emerged that a fake betting site had been marketing to potential customers using Jude Bellingham as an ‘ambassador’, another has fraudulently created an AI deepfake of Bruno Fernandes.

An online casino, QH88, has used AI-generated content in a bid to fool punters into believing that the Manchester United and Portugal star was endorsing the brands – going as far as to create an entire website around their scheme.

Another gambling site, Nightwin, had produced fake news stories using BBC branding to claim that their new platform – Bellingham Bet – was officially linked to the England ace.

Deep Fake

Not a great deal is known about QH88, other than the fact that they are based in Vietnam and offer both sports betting and online casino gaming – they are not licensed to operate in the UK.

They went to the extraordinary length of building an entire website, which displayed an AI generated video of a ‘deep faked’ Fernandes signing a contract to become the brand’s official ambassador.

The video was displayed on a loop on the QH88 website, using a backdrop of Old Trafford – Manchester United’s home stadium – to add legitimacy to the content.

To the untrained eye, it would probably look genuine. However, AI specialists deployed by the football media outlet Josimar found that subtle tell-tale signs – some blurring, continuity errors and artificially-generated faces – revealed that the video was very much a fake.

The law around deepfakes is sketchy. It’s an offence to use a deep faked image in intimate pictures or to incite violence, although the author in this case – despite infringing Fernandes’ image rights – would likely avoid prosecution, as there are no criminal laws against deep faking.

Meanwhile, Article 27 of FIFA’s code of ethics bans professional footballers from partnering with sports betting firms – in this case, Fernandes is evidently none-the-wiser that his identity has been stolen and used fraudulently.

Although not commenting on the case directly, a spokesperson from the UK Gambling Commission said: “Whenever we become aware of an unlicensed operator, we take action.

“Before depositing money, we urge consumers to check that the business holds a commission licence and consequently must ensure the gambling it provides is safe, fair and crime-free.”

Hey Jude

It was just last week that Jude Bellingham was a victim of deep faking, at a time when he is making global headlines for his exploits at the World Cup.

Nightwin, a Curacao licensed gambling operator, fraudulently used the image of the England midfielder in adverts for their app and in a faked BBC news story, which claimed that Nightwin is ‘Britain’s most honest betting app.’

They even purchased ad space on Instagram, claiming that the Real Madrid star was the face behind Bellingham Bet.

Nightwin even went to the trouble of creating a fake app page, with completely false reviews of 4.9/5 and even claims that the ‘app’ had been downloaded nearly two million times.

Although not licensed in the UK, punters can sign up for an account with Nightwin without even needing a VPN to circumnavigate geo-blocks.

Within hours, the scheme was reported to Instagram, who took down the ads, while the BBC would have no doubt issued a cease-and-desist order to have their watermark removed from the fake news story.

But how many unsuspecting customers had signed up for an account with Nightwin or QH88 before their crimes were exposed?