Bruno Fernandes Falls Victim to Deepfake Betting Scam A deepfake scam targeting footballer Bruno Fernandes has exposed the vulnerabilities of unlicensed betting operators operating through offshore jurisdictions. The incident, detailed by The Guardian, highlights how illegal gambling platforms exploit the anonymity of their owners and the lack of regulatory oversight to deceive fans and users. The scam involved a fabricated story attributed to the BBC, which falsely claimed Fernandes had launched a betting app called “Bellingham Bet,” a reference to Jude Bellingham, another Premier League player. The fake app, which bore a stylized signature of Fernandes used by his sponsor Adidas, was promoted through Instagram ads and led users to a gambling platform with no connection to the footballer. The operator behind the scheme, a company named Nightwin, operates without a license in the United Kingdom. While it is licensed in Curaçao, an offshore jurisdiction known for hosting dubious financial and gambling entities, the platform remains unregistered with the UK’s Gambling Commission. Nightwin is part of Flybergom B.V., a company incorporated in Curaçao in May 2024, which acquired its gaming license there in September 2025. Flybergom also operates other brands, including DK88 (or Dashking88), targeting illegal markets in Malaysia and Singapore. The company’s registered address in Willemstad, Curaçao, is linked to corporate service providers that manage thousands of opaque businesses, making it difficult to trace the ultimate beneficial owners of such operations. The scam was short-lived. The “Bellingham Bet” Instagram ads disappeared within days, leaving only screenshots as evidence.#bruno_fernandes #the_guardian #curaao #nightwin #flybergom_bv
