Offshore casino used AI deepfakes of Alphonso Davies's family to promote unregulated betting

An unregulated offshore casino based in Comoros used AI-generated deepfakes to impersonate Alphonso Davies's family in a fraudulent Instagram ad on Friday. The "Prime Spin Zone" ad showed AI video of Davies's father being arrested by Edmonton police, followed by a vault filled with money, then his release after police allegedly realized the funds came from legal gambling proceeds. An AI image of Davies's father tells viewers to play the same casino, and the ad also features an AI image of Drake endorsing the site.

Clicking the ad directs to Oxibet, a "black market" gambling site that accepts Canadian players but is not regulated in Alberta. The unregulated offshore casino is based in Comoros and targets players in Canada.

Davies, 19, was raised in Edmonton and plays for Bayern Munich. His agent, Nedal Huoseh, called the ad "lies" and said, "They don't gamble. And Alphonso does not do anything with betting or gambling sites whatsoever. As well, nothing with alcohol and cannabis." Huoseh wants to "go after" the people who created the fake ad. "It's a big problem we have to deal with. The problem with AI is that there are no regulations in place," Huoseh said.

One source described the ad as "racist with a capital R." Alberta law forbids celebrity athletes from promoting casinos or sportsbooks. However, athletes may appear in ads emphasizing responsible gambling or gaming controls—Connor McDavid appears in a BetMGM "mullet over" campaign that encourages sober second thought before placing sports bets.

Alberta launched a regulated iGaming market on July 13, becoming Canada's second province to do so. As of the story date, 31 legal registered online gambling sites operate in Alberta, and legal sites pay revenue to the province. Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Dale Nally said the government's main motivation is to ensure Albertans have access to a transparent, accountable system. Before the regulated market launched, Nally estimated Play Alberta took in about money Albertans spent on online casinos and sportsbooks, with the majority going to offshore sites based in Malta, Comoros, Curaçao and British Virgin Islands. Unregulated sites like Gravira (based in Curaçao) have launched attack ads on legal competitors like Bet365, and Lucky Falls (also based in Curaçao) claims it pays out faster than legal sites.