Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC) is urging companies to educate themselves on the emerging AI deepfake technologies and the threat they pose to anti-money laundering and counter financing terrorism (AML/CFT) initiatives.
The new document published by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) explains how companies are using AI technology to create deepfakes and circumvent biometric authentication protocols.
“Once a rare occurrence, deepfakes are now being used more widely,” the document begins. “Until recently, producing deepfakes required significant technical expertise and resources. However, advances in AI technology and broader accessibility have dramatically lowered barriers to entry. Today, anyone with a smartphone and an internet connection can generate convincing deepfakes within minutes, posing urgent operational, and regulatory challenges for reporting entities and for governments in the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.”
AI-enabled deepfakes can be used to mimic someone’s voice or face during digital ID verification to impersonate individuals and access their accounts or support social engineering schemes, such as those used to ransom MGM during the 2023 cyberattack.
To combat this, establishments are recommended to commit to three approaches to this threat: Training, co-operation and adoption.
The gambling industry has already seen the threats of AI deepfakes, particularly after Pansy Ho, MGM China Holdings' Chair and Executive Director, had her likeness used to promote a financial investment scam.
The UK Gambling Commission has also flagged AI deepfakes as one of the latest threats to the sector.
John Pierce, Gambling Commission Director of Enforcement and Intelligence, said that: "Looking ahead, emerging threats like generative AI, deepfakes and decentralised platforms will require us to further strengthen our technical knowledge and capabilities in future.
"Dismantling any illegal market is notoriously difficult. It requires joint effort, creative thinking, and an acceptance that no single solution will be sufficient.
"Given the scale of revenue involved, it's unlikely we will ever fully dismantle the ecosystem surrounding illegal gambling, which is increasingly sophisticated, digitally driven and global in scale."
Across Europe and the UK, there are currently heated debates around the legality of using AI models such as Grok to easily create AI deepfakes on X (Twitter)
