Deepfake Endorsements Now Fall Under New Zealand’s Casino Ad Ban
The amendments came into force in July, ahead of the launch of the regulated market, for which only 15 licences are available. Previously, the rules prohibited paying real people to promote gambling, but made no mention of synthetic lookalikes.
How It Started
The regulator took notice of an advert for the Māori Game app. The adverts featured AI-generated versions of TVNZ presenter Jenny-May Clarkson and filmmaker Taika Waititi. Neither of them had any connection to the advert, and neither had given consent.
According to the authorities, such adverts create the appearance of legitimacy, and the average user cannot always distinguish them from a genuine endorsement.
Where These Adverts Lead
Most of the adverts flagged so far do not lead to a working casino at all. The Department of Internal Affairs says a large share of them point to scam sites built to harvest personal data and payment details, with no game behind the landing page.
Synthetic influencers get separate attention in the department’s assessment. A convincing copy of a recognisable face does the persuading on its own, and officials believe those campaigns land hardest with younger viewers.
The damage runs in two directions. Beyond the money lost by users, anyone whose likeness ends up in a fake promotion carries the reputational cost of a campaign they never agreed to.
Officials had watched this format take hold in other markets and moved before it settled in at home. For now the department is collecting evidence from the public and has asked for screenshots of questionable casino adverts, including any that appear to carry a celebrity endorsement.
What Exactly Changed in the Rules
The amendments were adopted following advice given to Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden.
Advertising for online casinos is now prohibited during live broadcasts, as well as 30 minutes before they begin and for 30 minutes after they end. Sports betting and racing are not covered by the Online Casino Gambling Act, and the rules for these remain unchanged.
The key change concerns the wording. The previous provision prohibited operators from paying real people for promotional activities. Generated versions of those same people were not covered by this provision, even though the effect of the advertising was the same. This distinction has now been removed.
The next deadline is in December. Operators who have not applied for a licence must cease operations in the country. Sponsorship and advertising agreements with celebrities remain prohibited, regardless of whether a company obtains a licence or not.
Breaches of the advertising rules carry civil penalties of up to about €4.3 million, or roughly $5 million.
The Rule Is Written, Enforcement Is Not
New Zealand has closed the loophole between the ban on paying real people and adverts featuring their likenesses. The regulation, however, works against campaigns that are already being run from offshore domains and have no intention of applying for a licence.
The main tools at present are blocking and user complaints. Whether that is enough will become clear after December, when some operators will have to leave the market.