How Deepfake Technology Could Influence Sports Wagering

The rise in accessible AI tools has opened up all sorts of possibilities for people who want to create art, write stories, or experiment with new ideas. It feels exciting, almost like anyone can try things that once required a full team or expensive equipment. Still, a different conversation has been taking shape around it, one that is harder to ignore. 

As these tools have grown more powerful, so has the wave of deepfakes, the kind where a politician or actor appears in a video saying something provocative or outright false. They never actually said any of it, yet the footage looks real enough to fool someone who is not paying close attention. This has started to worry a lot of people for understandable reasons.Deepfake videos are so realistic that it’s hard for people to spot that they are indeed, completely fabricated.

Deepfakes can appear in many different areas – from politics to entertainment, online scams, and even everyday social media posts – simply because the technology makes it easy to create convincing videos. But can this somehow affect the world of sports and everything around it? Fans can still be confident that they are watching real matches, but what about people who enjoy sports betting? Granted, you always receive accurate data when using licensed online bookmakers and reliable betting resources such as Legalbet, which reviews sportsbooks and their services. 

When you look through welcome bonuses or promotions like quizzes and wheels of fortune included in the daily free games available here, you’ll find descriptions of real, verifiable prizes.

Still, the wider internet is full of all kinds of content, including deepfakes. So, can this influence your bets?

How Can Deepfakes Impact Sports Betting

While deepfakes could hypothetically have some influence on the betting world, their impact remains largely theoretical. In an environment saturated with digital content, it is possible for misinformation to appear, and deepfakes are one form this might take.

A generated video of a player talking about an injury, a fake interview with a head coach talking badly about one of their team, or even convincing video clips of action that never happened, to behind-the-scenes footage to show some dressing room fallout happening are examples of sports deepfakes.

These may sound like trivial things, but they’re not to be ignored because bettors thrive on information. It’s that flow of information that helps bookmakers generate odds, and punters place bets. They crave data to help them gauge the value of bets, and beyond statistics, things like team selections, player transfer rumours, the weather and talk about team formations can all influence a bettor’s actions.

Therefore, if a deepfake does the rounds before matchday, that could influence how people bet on that game.

Encouraging a More Careful Approach

Deepfakes have the potential to create uncertainty simply because they can circulate quickly online. Imagine a scenario where a video appears on social media suggesting a head coach has had a disagreement with a star striker only hours before a major fixture.

Even if such a clip were created just for amusement and without any particular intention, once it reaches the public it could still influence how fans and punters interpret the upcoming match.

This extends to in-play situations as well. A deepfake showing a supposed red card or an injury incident that never actually occurred might prompt quick reactions from those who come across it during a game. Bookmakers, however, are affected to a far lesser extent, as their markets are based on verified, official information rather than social media clips — something essential for running their business reliably.

For everyday bettors, the appearance of deepfakes online may simply encourage a more careful approach to assessing what they see. Instead of relying on a single video or post, people may start checking multiple sources or waiting for confirmation from established outlets before drawing conclusions.

Does This Problem Currently Exist?

At the moment, there are no confirmed cases of deepfakes being created with the specific aim of influencing punters or betting sites. Likewise, there is no evidence to suggest that deepfake videos have directly shaped betting decisions. So, while deepfakes are occasionally used online with malicious intent, they have not yet found their way into sports wagering.

There are, however, already examples of fabricated videos featuring well-known athletes. These clips do not affect betting markets directly, but they could, in theory, prompt some viewers to question a player’s conduct or circumstances, which may influence perceptions more generally.

As mentioned earlier, licensed operators are affected much less, as their odds are based on verified and authoritative sources rather than social media posts or unconfirmed material.

For bettors, however, there is little reason for concern. The key, as always, is to rely on trustworthy information, whether you are choosing a licensed betting platform or checking statistics ahead of a match. Using reliable sources helps ensure that the data you see is accurate and complete, reducing the chance of encountering errors or incomplete details that can sometimes appear on lower-quality sites.