What happened
The Guardian Australia reports that the AFL instructed Sportsbet, its official gambling partner, to stop using AI-generated imagery and video of AFL players without permission and to delete videos depicting athletes delivering lines from films, television shows and speeches. Sportsbet removed the reported videos after the Guardian contacted it. The AFL Players’ Association said the content breached restrictions in the players’ collective bargaining agreement, although that agreement does not specifically mention AI.
The Guardian Australia reports that Sportsbet created age-restricted social-media videos using the likenesses of players including Lachie Neale and Will Ashcroft, as well as coaches Sam Mitchell and Alastair Clarkson. One reported video depicted Neale delivering lines associated with a Snoop Dogg awards speech; another portrayed Ashcroft delivering a line from Ozark in response to a real AFL event.
The videos were intended to increase engagement and attract new audiences and customers. The Guardian reports that Sportsbet removed the videos from Instagram on Tuesday afternoon after being contacted by the outlet. This removal and the AFL’s instruction are reported developments; the source does not provide independent technical verification of how the videos were generated or establish that the depicted people participated in their creation.
The AFL Players’ Association told the league that the material breached the 2023–2027 collective bargaining agreement’s restrictions on how partners may use player images. Its general manager of legal affairs, Alex Taverner, said AI-generated player imagery is not permitted without players’ approval. The report also says the agreement permits certain image and video uses without permission but contains no specific AI provision.
The AFL said it would work with partners on AI content as the technology evolves. Sportsbet said it responds to partner feedback and community expectations. Neither statement, as reported, specifies a new approval process, technical safeguards, compensation arrangement or continuing restriction beyond the removal of the reported material.
Source details: theguardian.com ↗
Why it matters
The episode shows how can create commercially usable likenesses of athletes faster than existing contracts and safeguards can address them. It also connects synthetic media with gambling promotion, an especially sensitive use because Australia is legislating a ban on athletes appearing in gambling advertisements. The report raises unresolved questions about consent, accountability and whether current image-rights agreements cover AI-generated performances.
This is a concrete example of AI becoming the direct mechanism for turning a person’s identity into advertising content. The practical issue is not only whether a generated image looks authentic; it is whether a league, sponsor or platform has authority to make an athlete appear to say or do something in a commercial setting.
The gambling context increases the policy significance. The Guardian reports that Australia’s federal government has legislated a ban on athletes appearing in gambling ads, with the new rules taking effect next year. The reported videos therefore sit at the intersection of synthetic-media consent, advertising standards and restrictions on sports-gambling promotion.
The case may pressure sports organisations to revise agreements written before became widely used. The existing collective bargaining agreement reportedly governs image and video use but does not mention AI, leaving uncertainty about whether conventional permissions adequately cover fabricated speech, performances or apparent reactions to live events.
The report includes criticism from independent senator David Pocock and University of Sydney researcher Mark Johnson, but their comments are expert and political assessments rather than evidence that the videos caused measurable harm. The source also does not report player reactions, a regulator’s finding or a court determination.
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What to watch next
Watch for whether the AFL and Sportsbet establish explicit rules for synthetic player likenesses, whether affected players pursue remedies, and how Australia’s coming gambling-ad restrictions apply to AI-generated depictions. The report does not establish whether the players approved, viewed or were compensated for any of the videos, whether regulators will investigate, or whether other sports partnerships use similar material.
The AFL’s next step is whether it publishes a clear consent standard for AI-generated player imagery and explains how that standard will be enforced across partners. The source does not say whether such a policy already exists or whether the reported removal resolves the contractual dispute.
The coming gambling-ad rules could clarify whether synthetic depictions of athletes are treated like conventional athlete endorsements. The report does not specify the final rules’ treatment of AI-generated likenesses, the enforcement body or the penalties that could apply.
It remains unknown whether Sportsbet used any internal approval, disclosure or age-gating process beyond the reported age restriction, and whether the affected players or coaches were contacted. It is also unknown whether the league reviewed other partner content for similar uses.