Key Takeaways: MrBeast’s Fake Casino Ads:

  1. Fake Ads: Scammers use MrBeast’s name and image to promote fraudulent casino apps.
  2. Deepfake Technology: AI-generated videos falsely depict MrBeast endorsing these scams.
  3. Social Media Platforms: Sites like X, Instagram, and TikTok struggle to block these deceptive ads.
  4. Financial Impact: Impersonation scams have defrauded billions from unsuspecting victims.
  5. Public Denouncement: MrBeast has publicly condemned these scams, warning fans to be cautious.

5 Fun Facts about the Fake Mr. Beast Casino Scam

  1. TikTok Scam: Fake SkyNews report claimed MrBeast endorsed a gambling app.
  2. October 2022: MrBeast denounced an AI deepfake offering iPhone 15s for $2 deposits.
  3. Altered Footage: Fake interviews used old MrBeast videos to create false promotions.
  4. FTC Report: Between 2018-2022, impersonation scams defrauded over $6 billion from US individuals.
  5. Social Media: Despite complaints, platforms struggle to filter out deepfake scam ads effectively.

The Rumors behind the Famous Mr. Beast Casino Craze

Rumors are spreading on social media that the world-famous YouTuber MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, is about to launch a casino.

It turns out that these rumors seem to mostly be sparked by fake ads that have been circulating on social media for a while now as part of a devious campaign to promote casino apps and scams by pretending that MrBeast is endorsing it.

Unfortunately for fans of MrBeast and gambling, it doesn’t seem like he will be launching a casino anytime soon. Instead, he has to worry about his name and likeness being used to promote scams through fake social media ads.

For quite a few months, these ads have been popping up to users on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.

Their purpose has been, thus far, to use the credibility of MrBeast and his famous giveaways to scam users by prompting them to deposit money in exchange for instant gifts and guaranteed casino earnings.

What Are These Fake MrBeast Ads?

One TikTok ad shows a (fake) SkyNews reporter promoting a gambling app called ‘Land of Sweet Bonanza’ that she claims is being endorsed by MrBeast. The video depicts footage of the YouTuber that was likely ripped directly from unrelated video on his channel, along with ‘testimonials’ of people who claim to have won some kind of prize (typically millions of pounds).

@atozy__The Disturbing Fake MrBeast A.I Gambling Advertisement♬ original sound – atozy

The video can clearly be labeled a scam, primarily due to its poor editing, but also because MrBeast hasn’t endorsed this app or anything of the sort on his official social media and YouTube accounts. Not all of these scam ads are this obvious though.

Unfortunately, these scammers can often camouflage their ads to make them look like genuine ads or websites. It clearly works or else it wouldn’t be worth buying the ad space.

MrBeast Denounces Deepfake Campaign Using His Image to Promote Casino Apps

Back in October last year, the internet sensation, who is well known for giving away money by hosting funny and engaging contests, denounced that an AI-generated deepfake was circulating.

At that point, the fake MrBeast offered to give away iPhone 15s to 10,000 people if they deposited $2 in a casino app. To complete the registration process, users would have to provide both their personal and financial information in exchange for the reward.

However, same as the previous ad, none of these apps are affiliated with MrBeast in any way. The fact that social media platforms like X have not been able to identify the fraudulent nature of these ads to block them before they do harm is quite concerning.

In another incident of this nature that surfaced just this month, a fact-checking platform created by the Latin American news channel Univision spotted a fake interview that used an AI-generated voice made to sound like MrBeast to promote an online casino.

According to elDetector’s official investigation of the interview, MrBeast, whose actual name is Jimmy Donaldson, told a CBS reporter that he “just made up a new way to give away money”.

The faked audio and images of MrBeast were manipulated to prompt those who watched the interview to sign up for the casino app, possibly to steal users’ private information or encourage them to make a deposit with the promise that they would earn more in exchange.

The footage that was altered to produce the fake interview came from a 2021 interview given by MrBeast to Colin and Samir, a pair of YouTubers whose show has nearly 1.4 million subscribers.

Just to make things abundantly clear, Business2Community does not have any kind of relationship with MrBeast or any of these scams. We make useful gambling and gaming guides and news of all kinds including useful casino app reviews where we independently rate the merits, credentials, offerings, and safety of these platforms.

Social Media Platforms Are Horrible at Catching Scams

Users commented on the celebrity’s post that companies like Meta Platforms (META), X, and TikTok may not be ready for what’s coming their way once these deepfakes become more and more common.

The algorithmic tools used by these platforms to identify and block these types of ‘deepfaked’ ads don’t appear to be working adequately and, even if they are, a handful of highly refined versions could still do quite some damage if they manage to bypass these filters.

A report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published in 2022 claims that between 2018 and that year, over $6 billion were defrauded from individuals within the United States via impersonation scams.

“They use a false aura of authenticity in an effort to steal money or sensitive information from consumers”, the report claims.

Meanwhile, a more recent report from the FTC that focuses solely on social media scams indicated that between 2021 and 2023, approximately $2.7 billion were drained from unwary victims who fell for this type of fraudulent advertisement.

“Social media gives scammers an edge in several ways. They can easily manufacture a fake persona, or hack into your profile, pretend to be you, and con your friends”, this latest report asserts.

It seems that Meta, TikTok, Snap, and other campaigns are still fine-tuning their systems as these ads have kept showing up on users’ feeds despite the many complaints voiced by both users and even MrBeast himself.