Deepfake and AI-driven fraud attacks escalate in Latin American online gambling platforms
A study of Latin American online gambling companies found that 57% reported attacks using AI-generated deepfakes and synthetic media in the past year, with 67% reporting worsened exposure to fraud. The attacks exploit document manipulation, image forgery, and voice cloning, creating a challenge for platforms balancing security controls with user experience.
What happened
According to the study 'Blindar el Juego 2026' conducted by verification company Unico with Latin American gambling and online betting executives, 57% of companies reported experiencing attacks using AI-generated deepfakes and generative AI tools during the past year.
The study found that 34% of companies registered an increase in the volume of fraud attempts, and 67% reported that their exposure to these practices had worsened. Fraudsters are using AI to manipulate documents, images, and voices to compromise identity verification systems.
Reported impact
The attacks target multiple points in user activity: account registration, login, device changes, deposits, withdrawals, and account recovery. Detection is concentrated in early stages, with 35% of cases identified during mandatory field registration, 21% during document identity verification, and 21% during OTP or second-factor mechanisms.
35% of companies reported that legitimate users abandon platforms due to friction in verification procedures, while 36% identified revenue loss from these friction points. Among companies reporting losses from verification friction, 62% placed them in a specified range.
Index analysis
Mobile devices concentrate a significant portion of platform activity, with over 50% of connections to gaming and betting services occurring via mobile phones and eight in ten online players using mobile as their primary device.
The study identifies an industry challenge: operators must strengthen identification mechanisms beyond initial user registration to combat increasingly sophisticated attacks, while avoiding verification processes so lengthy they drive away legitimate users. The balance between security controls and user experience remains a critical vulnerability.
Governance controls
Miguel Ochoa Sánchez, president of AIEJA, stated that fraud perpetrators operate in networks and learn from each attempt. He warned that if each company protects itself only with its own information, the industry will always react after attacks occur.
The industry recognizes that AI has opened enormous possibilities but is also being used to develop increasingly sophisticated fraud through document, image, and voice manipulation. The challenge is to verify user identity within minutes without creating barriers that cause user abandonment.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.