Unlicensed sports betting operators are increasingly deploying sophisticated tactics, including AI-generated deepfakes and fabricated news stories, to falsely link prominent football stars Jude Bellingham and Bruno Fernandes to their brands. This alarming trend highlights a growing challenge for regulators and player image rights in the digital age.
These illicit platforms, which often operate from offshore jurisdictions to shield their true ownership, routinely exploit the images of famous clubs and star players without consent, infringing on image rights and trademarks. The practices directly contravene Article 27 of the FIFA code of ethics, which prohibits footballers, coaches, and officials from benefiting from any association with sports betting operators. Players who disregard this rule face potential fines and bans, as seen when Yerry Mina, then at Everton, was fined £10,000 by the Football Association in 2019 for appearing in a Colombian sportsbook advert.
Bellingham Bet: A fabricated BBC story
Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham has been a target of such deception. An online casino and sportsbook called Nightwin purchased advertising space on Instagram to promote a fabricated story, falsely attributed to the BBC, announcing a product called “Bellingham Bet.” The ads featured a fake app with a supposed 4.9/5 rating and over 1.9 million downloads, reported by The Guardian.
Nightwin, despite not being registered with the Great Britain Gambling Commission, was accessible in the United Kingdom without a VPN. According to reports, Nightwin is licensed in Curaçao and was launched this year by Flybergom B.V., a company incorporated in May 2024 that acquired its gaming licence in September 2025. This same company also operates the DK88 (Dashking88) brand, which targets illegal markets in Malaysia and Singapore. The “Bellingham Bet” Instagram advertisements were quickly removed within days of appearing.
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Fernandes deepfake at Old Trafford
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes, a hugely popular figure in Vietnam, has also been exploited. QH88, a Vietnamese sportsbook and casino website, constructed an entire website around a fictitious partnership with the Portuguese midfielder. The most striking element of their campaign was a realistic AI-generated deepfake video, purportedly showing Fernandes signing an “ambassadorial contract” with QH88 representatives at Old Trafford.
An expert analysis of the one-minute film, conducted for the Norwegian website Josimar, identified multiple tell-tale signs of AI manipulation, confirming the video’s inauthenticity. The Guardian contacted QH88, Bruno Fernandes’s management, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Fifpro, the Premier League, Nightwin, and Flybergom B.V. for comment on these incidents.
A spokesperson for the Great Britain Gambling Commission issued a strong warning regarding these unlicensed operations: “Whenever we become aware of an unlicensed operator we take action. Before depositing money we urge consumers to check the business holds a commission licence and consequently must ensure the gambling it provides is safe, fair and crime-free.”
The rise of deepfake technology presents a significant challenge for regulators globally, particularly given the anonymity provided by offshore jurisdictions like Curaçao, long considered a haven for dubious operators. International coordination is becoming increasingly vital to combat these sophisticated forms of illegal sports betting and protect athletes from identity theft.
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