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Batavia Downs officials are warning customers not to engage with an AI-generated social media video that falsely promotes a "Batavia Downs Gaming" app.
Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., which operates Batavia Downs, said the app shown in the video is not real and is not affiliated with the gaming venue. Officials also said any online wagering promoted through the ad would be illegal in New York.
Officials say the app and video are fake
WROTB vice president of business development Ryan Hasenauer said someone is trying to use Batavia Downs’ name to get people to download an app for online gaming.
> “It is not real and is not legal,” Hasenauer said.
According to officials, the spoof content includes several signs that it is not authentic, including incorrect imagery, a fake logo and language Batavia Downs would not use in its own marketing. Hasenauer also said Batavia Downs does not currently have an app, although one is in development.
Mike DeGeorge, WROTB’s director of communications, said the goal is to make customers aware of the impersonation attempt before anyone downloads anything or shares personal information.
Why the warning matters for New York players
Hasenauer said the video references online wagering, but that type of gaming remains illegal in New York. He warned that sites or apps tied to such offers are not regulated and leave users with little protection if money is lost.
The FBI defines spoofing as disguising a sender, phone number, email address or website so it appears trustworthy. The agency warns that spoofed communications can be used to trick people into downloading malware, sending money or disclosing sensitive information.
For players, the practical message is simple: do not download anything promoted in the ad and do not assume a Facebook page using the Batavia Downs name is legitimate.
How users can report the spoof content
Batavia Downs officials are asking Facebook users who encounter the video to report it through the platform’s menu options, such as the reel reporting feature, in hopes of getting it removed.
Officials said this is the first AI-generated video they have seen pretending to be from Batavia Downs. Questions that remain unanswered include who created the video, how widely it has spread and whether Facebook has removed the content.
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Source: As reported by thedailynewsonline.com.
