MGM China Says AI Video Featuring Pansy Is a Deepfake

Posted on: September 25, 2025, 07:56h. 

Last updated on: September 25, 2025, 07:56h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.
  • Macau casino operator says video is “entirely fraudulent”
  • AI-generated video features Ho’s likeness to promote a “fictitious” investment scheme

MGM China warned investors that a video featuring the likeness of Chairperson and Executive Director Pansy Ho was generated by artificial intelligence (AI) and is a “deepfake.”

MGM China Chairperson and Executive Director Pansy Ho. The company said a video of her likeness promising investment returns is fraudulent and a deepfake. (Image: Reuters)

The video in question features AI-generated likeness of Ho promoting what the Macau casino operator described as a “fictitious investment plan” promising outsized returns. MGM China, which runs two integrated resorts in the Chinese gaming enclave, added the video “unlawfully impersonated” Ho.

MGM China declares that such content is entirely fraudulent and has no connection whatsoever with the Company or Ms. Ho,” said the gaming company in a statement. “MGM China reiterates that neither the Company nor Ms. Pansy Ho has at any time been involved in, authorized, or endorsed the purported investment plan featured in the deepfake video.”

Ho is one of the largest shareholders in MGM China and is also managing director and a 15% owner of MGM Grand Paradise, the entity that holds the license for MGM China’s two Macau integrated resorts.

Pansy Ho Is Recognizable Gaming Persona in Asia

With the evolution of generative AI, deepfakes are becoming more common, including in the gaming world where bad actors attempt to leverage the computer-generated images and videos for a variety of nefarious purposes.

As follower of American politics and pop culture know, deepfakes have appeared in this country featuring images of famous people and that appears to be the approach the perpetrators used when illegally using Ho’s likeness. The tactic isn’t surprising given that she’s one of Asia’s most prominent businesswomen. She’s also one of the wealthiest.

Owing in part to her visibility in the Asia-Pacific region, MGM China emphasized neither the company nor Ho had anything to do with the video.

“The video was neither created nor released by the Company or Ms. Pansy Ho. MGM China condemns these acts of impersonation and misrepresentation in the strongest terms and reserves all legal rights against the parties involved, to protect our rights and interests,” the gaming operator added in the press release.

Interesting Timing for Pansy Ho Deepfake

It’s not clear if the perps timed the fraudulent Ho video to coincide with what’s been a buoyant stretch for Macau casino operators, but that’s what happened. Even with challenges to September gross gaming revenue (GGR) presented by Typhoon Ragasa, Macau is on pace for its best year in GGR terms since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. MGM China is contributing to that rebound.

The operator of MGM Cotai and MGM Macau is adding market share in the world’s largest casino markets while some rivals dither on that front. In a recent report, Morningstar analyst Jennifer Song says  Ho’s company is getting a lift from the addition of more table games capacity.