Investigation reveals dozens of masked gambling apps on the App Store in Brazil
An investigation has uncovered more than 60 apps on the App Store that appear to be simple games or utilities but turn into gambling platforms in Brazil. The apps use AI-generated animal icons and are published by developers mainly from Vietnam.
How do the masked apps work?
The apps are found in categories such as Navigation, Travel, or Weather. When opened from most of the world, they display an innocent interface, but from a Brazilian IP address, they transform into online betting platforms. At the time of publication, the highest-rated app in the Weather category was precisely such a masked gambling app.
Common characteristics
- Most apps have only one release and developer names come from Vietnam or other countries, not from Brazil.
- They use similar or identical privacy policies, have no updates, and are around 15 MB in size.
- The apps are built on simple concepts with clear branding and a few distinctive features to differentiate them from each other.
Guide on GitHub
Investigators found a public repository on GitHub with instructions for creating these apps using the Cursor tool. The guide includes a requirement for 3–5 visible interfaces, a marketplace name, and an animal icon (dragon, ox, rabbit, rat, or tiger), as well as support for remote routing to a local app, website, or external web.
Reaction from the App Store and authorities
Ironically, the App Store's recommendation system itself groups these suspicious apps in the “You might also like” section. Brazil recently gave Apple and Google five business days to explain how they detect apps hiding gambling. Apple was also asked to remove eight AI apps for photo detection.