Monzo bank hasn’t launched its own online casino site
Summary
Social media posts falsely claim that the online bank Monzo has officially launched its own online slots platform, called Monzo slots. A Monzo spokesperson confirmed that this is not a genuine casino site from the company and said the posts were allowing individuals to "take advantage of our much-loved brand to trick people". The posts often use the real Monzo logo to create the false impression that the business has launched a casino, but none link to the company's real website. One post uses an image of a woman holding a large cheque in front of a 'Monzo slots' stand, which OpenAI's detector flags as containing SynthID, an invisible watermark indicating it was created or edited using AI tools. At the time of writing, several sponsored ads are active on Facebook and Instagram from accounts falsely using the Monzo brand to promote gambling sites, including a video very likely AI-generated that shows a person asking "Do you have Monzo?" and "Have you actually tried Monzo slots or have you only heard about it?" Posts then claim various bonuses are available only for the next hour. Other promotional videos seen by Full Fact, following similar scripts and promoting the same £420 bonus, also have hallmark features of AI-generated content, including nonsense text and distorted background characters. Recent reporting from the Guardian has highlighted that Monzo, alongside other household brands, has had its likeness used without permission to falsely promote online gambling sites. If an online deal seems too good to be true, it is always worth checking if it has been shared on the company's official, verified channels.
(Source:Full Fact)