La Voz

What is La Voz?

More than a year after then-Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers faced menacing threats from an exasperated bettor, questions remain about whether the proposed bans will serve as a meaningful deterrent to agitated sportsbook customers. An investigation later determined that the bettor resided overseas.

Since the Supreme Court’s PASPA decision in 2018, there has been an uptick on harassment against athletes from bettors. The collection of incidents, in the view of the industry, is typically construed as both troubling and prevalent. Against a backdrop of alarming threats in numerous sports, perhaps the most disconcerting occurred at the hands of Benjamin “Parlay” Patz, a California bettor.

Approximately 15 months after the high court’s ruling, Patz sent a series of explicit messages to four members of MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays, threatening to “sever” their necks open. Accused by federal investigators of targeting more than 300 accounts of pro and college athletes, Patz pleaded guilty in 2021 to transmitting threats in interstate or foreign commerce. Although a judge ordered Patz to undergo mental health treatment and abstain from gambling, he did not sentence the bettor to prison.

What is La Voz?

Despite these measures, the ASA found that the character’s age was not credibly verified. The prompts used to generate the AI image did not explicitly require the character to appear aged 25 or over. Without an independent verification process, the regulator determined the character still “seemed to be under 25”.

The ASA’s ruling directed both Dribble Media and Limay Media to ensure the offending advertisement would not be redisplayed in the same form.

This is Midnite’s third ASA ruling this year. Last month, the operator came under scrutiny for an ad that suggested that “gambling was an escape from personal problems”. The ASA received 125 complaints on the offending ad and the company was ordered to remove the advertisement. 

What is La Voz?

The video shows a vault filled with cash, followed by a scene where Davies’ father is released after police allegedly determine the money came from legitimate gambling, the ad claims.

The AI-generated image of Davies’ father then urges viewers to visit the same online casino he used. Users who click the ad are redirected to Oxibet, an offshore gambling platform based in Comoros.

The Sun quoted Davies’ agent, who called the advertisement “lies” and confirmed that the soccer star has no ties to any gambling sites.