Alphonso Davies Deepfake Shows How Canada’s Fake Gambling Ads Are Evolving

Canada’s online gambling industry is entering a new phase, and the latest threat is not coming from the licensed operators flooding the market with advertising. It’s coming from scammers using artificial intelligence, celebrity likenesses and legitimate Canadian casino brands to funnel consumers toward offshore gambling sites.

The latest case involving Canadian soccer star Alphonso Davies shows why the problem has changed. This is no longer simply a matter of a scammer stealing a celebrity photograph and putting it beside an offshore casino logo. Artificial intelligence can now create convincing videos that make it appear as though real people are speaking about gambling services they have never used.

Alphonso Davies family targeted by fake gambling ad

An Instagram account called Prime Spin Zone recently posted an advertisement featuring an AI-generated likeness of Davies' father, according to the Edmonton Journal. The fabricated video depicts Davies' father being arrested by the Edmonton Police Service after officers allegedly discover a vault containing millions of dollars in cash. The advertisement then claims the arrest was a misunderstanding because the money came from legal gambling winnings.

The fake version of Davies' father subsequently appears to encourage viewers to play at the same online casino. Clicking the advertisement directed users to Oxibet, a gambling website based in Comoros. It is not a registered site for legal betting in Canada, according to industry reporting.

Davies' agent, Nedal Huoseh, rejected the claims and said the Davies family does not gamble. He also said Davies has no relationship with betting or gambling companies and indicated that he intends to pursue those responsible for the advertisement.

Davies has been targeted before

The latest incident is also notable because it isn’t the first time Davies' image has been used without authorization to promote gambling. In 2023, Huoseh reportedly told a gambling company to remove an Instagram advertisement featuring Davies. At the time, he said the player's image was routinely being used without permission and emphasized that Davies did not endorse betting sites.

The difference in 2026 is the technology. The earlier advertisement could use a photograph. The latest one can manufacture an entire scenario involving Davies' family, police officers, money and an apparent testimonial. The result is an advertisement designed to look like a piece of news rather than conventional gambling marketing. That makes the deception considerably harder for an ordinary social-media user to identify.

Canada already has a fake gambling ad problem

Davies' case is the latest example of a much wider pattern. In Alberta, River Cree Resort & Casino was previously targeted by fraudulent social-media advertising that used altered footage featuring former CityNews journalist Baily Nitti. The AI-manipulated video appeared to promote an online betting site despite having no connection to the casino. River Cree said its name had been used in fraudulent advertisements for more than a year.

Other Canadian casino brands have faced similar problems. Industry reporting has documented fraudulent advertisements using the names and imagery of properties including Woodbine Racetrack, River Rock Casino, Casino New Brunswick, Casino Nova Scotia and Casino Rama to send consumers toward offshore gambling sites.

Why Alberta's new market makes this more significant

The Davies scam arrives at a particularly important moment for Alberta. The province launched its regulated private iGaming market on July 13 after estimating that roughly 70% of Alberta's online gambling activity was taking place with unregulated operators. The new system was explicitly designed to improve player protections and shift consumers toward regulated websites.

There are now 31 registered iGaming operators in Alberta, while legitimate advertising is subject to provincial standards. Regulated operators must include responsible-gambling information in advertising, and Alberta restricts the use of athletes and people likely to appeal to minors in sports betting bonuses.

An offshore operator, however, does not play by those rules. That creates an awkward paradox for Canada's regulated gambling industry: operators are investing heavily to build legal markets, while fraudulent advertisements can exploit the visibility of those markets without accepting the same regulatory responsibilities.

Ontario has faced the same challenge. Its regulator banned athletes from appearing in iGaming advertisements in 2024, while a new Canadian Gaming Association advertising code administered by Ad Standards took effect in 2026.

Ultimately, every fake advertisement using a Canadian athlete, casino or journalist makes it more difficult for consumers to determine what is legitimate. AI raises the stakes because seeing a familiar person speaking directly to a camera is no longer reliable evidence that the person actually made the endorsement.