Streameast, one of the world’s largest illegal sports streaming platforms, has reportedly been shut down following a year-long international investigation. The platform, which hosted unauthorised live events for major leagues like the Premier League, Champions League, NFL, and NBA, had amassed over 1.6 billion visits in the last 12 months.
According to a report by The Athletic, the platform hosted 80 illegal domains. The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), a coalition of over 50 media companies including Amazon and Netflix, confirmed that an operation was conducted on Sunday, August 24, with assistance from Egyptian law enforcement. The raid in El-Sheikh Zaid, Egypt, led to the arrest of two men on suspicion of copyright infringement. Authorities confiscated phones, laptops, cash, and credit cards. Investigators also uncovered links to a company in the UAE allegedly used to launder £4.9 million in advertising revenue and an additional £150,000 in cryptocurrency since 2010.
Charles Rivkin, the chairman of ACE and the MPA, hailed the operation as a “resounding victory.” “We have put more points on the board for sports leagues, entertainment companies, and fans worldwide,” he stated.
The shutdown is considered a significant win for legitimate streaming services, which invest heavily in broadcast rights. Ed McCarthy, COO of DAZN Group, an ACE member, emphasized that the criminal operation was “siphoning value from sports at every level.”
While Streameast’s original domain is no longer active, back-up domains are reportedly still operational. ACE has acknowledged the threat of “copycat” sites and is actively investigating any potential related activity. The operation comes as a stark warning to others, with a recent case in Yorkshire seeing a man jailed for three years for running similar sites that generated over £1 million in illegal revenue.
Source: BBC