{"id":629801,"date":"2026-10-13T23:52:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T23:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/629801\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T23:52:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T23:52:18","slug":"afl-tells-sportsbet-to-stop-using-players-in-ai-generated-content-gambling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/629801\/","title":{"rendered":"AFL tells Sportsbet to stop using players in AI-generated content | Gambling"},"content":{"rendered":"

The AFL<\/a> has told its official gambling partner, Sportsbet, to stop featuring its high-profile athletes in AI-generated social media content without player permission.<\/p>\n

Sportsbet has also been told to delete AI videos depicting AFL stars delivering lines from movies, television shows or speeches to react to real events.<\/p>\n

The videos were age-restricted and designed to boost Sportsbet\u2019s engagement on social media, in a bid for new audiences and customers.<\/p>\n

The videos were published despite the federal government legislating to ban athletes appearing in gambling ads<\/a>. The new rules take effect next year.<\/p>\n

One AI video depicts former Brisbane Lions premiership player Lachie Neale accepting an award at his new club, Collingwood. Sportsbet manipulated his image to show him mimicking a 2018 speech from the US rapper Snoop Dogg<\/a> accepting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.<\/p>\n

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\u201cLast but not least, I want to thank me,\u201d an AI-generated video of Neale said. \u201cI want to thank me for believing in me. I want to thank me for doing all this hard work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another AI-generated video depicts the Brisbane Lions player Will Ashcroft. The dual Norm Smith medallist was shown screaming a line from the television show Ozark: \u201cIf you want to stop me you\u2019re going to have to fucking kill me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sportsbet suggested this was Ashcroft<\/a>\u2019s response to Fremantle playing \u201cWharfie Time\u201d in the final quarter of the 2026 AFL grand final<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The videos were removed from its Instagram page on Tuesday afternoon, after Sportsbet was contacted by Guardian Australia.<\/p>\n

The gambling company has also created AI content using the images of the Hawthorn coach, Sam Mitchell, and former North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson.<\/p>\n

While these videos were designed to be humorous, the AFL Players\u2019 Association (AFLPA) said it was not impressed.<\/p>\n

The AFLPA, which acts as a union, wrote to the league late last week with its concerns. It argued the videos breached a collective bargaining agreement between players and the AFL, which restricts how their images can be used by the league\u2019s partners.<\/p>\n

The association\u2019s general manager of legal affairs, Alex Taverner, said: \u201cAI-generated player imagery is not permitted without the players\u2019 approval.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe raised this with the AFL and advocated for both the removal of the content and a cessation of the use of AI-generated imagery and vision of players without their approval.<\/p>\n

\u201cImportantly, the AFL will now work with Sportsbet to remove the content.\u201d<\/p>\n

An AFL spokesperson said it would \u201ccontinue to work closely with our partners on the use of AI content and will continue to do so as the technology evolves\u201d.<\/p>\n

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A Sportsbet spokesperson said the company was \u201calways developing content that entertains fans and supports engagement with sport\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe listen to our partners\u2019 feedback and respond accordingly,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re continuing to work with the AFL on the evolving use of AI in our content, taking account of partner feedback and community expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2023-2027 collective bargaining agreement allows Sportsbet to use images and vision of players without permission, but only in certain circumstances and with restrictions. The agreement makes no mention of AI.<\/p>\n

Independent ACT senator David Pocock, a former professional athlete who focuses on the gambling industry and AI, said the case highlighted a need for more regulation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAI being used to generate images of elite athletes without their consent to promote harmful gambling products and attempt to buy social license exposes issues with gambling company behaviour as well as the lack of safeguards against deep fakes,\u201d Pocock said.<\/p>\n

Dr Mark Johnson, a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney who has researched social media influencers and gambling, said Sportsbet could have taken more care.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most likely explanation is that someone at Sportsbet acted without thinking and never paused to consider how the images of sportspeople are, themselves, often an element of brands and ownership,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

In Australia, Gambling Help Online<\/a> is available on 1800 858 858. The National Debt Helpline<\/a> is at 1800 007 007. In the UK, support for problem gambling can be found via the NHS National Problem Gambling Clinic<\/a> on 020 7381 7722, or GamCare<\/a> on 0808 8020 133. In the US, call the National Council on Problem Gambling<\/a> on 1-800-MY-RESET<\/p>\n