UK Sports Streaming Piracy Hits All-Time High, Fueling Black-Market Bookmakers
The UK has witnessed a significant surge in sports streaming piracy, with a staggering 3.6 billion illegal streams reported in the past three years, according to a recent report by Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG). This represents a more than doubling of the previous year's numbers, highlighting the ongoing challenge faced by broadcasters and leagues in combating piracy.
The report also reveals a symbiotic relationship between sports piracy and unlicensed gambling, with 89% of illegal streams featuring adverts for black-market bookmakers. This has led to a significant increase in unlicensed operators earning £379 million in the first half of 2025, taking up 9% of Britain's £8.2 billion online gambling marketplace.
The growth of unlicensed betting has been fueled by tax changes introduced in April, which have increased online gaming duty from 21% to 40%. This change is expected to further fuel the growth of unlicensed operators, who are already capitalizing on the lucrative sports streaming market.
Industry experts warn that Britain is becoming a soft touch for organized crime, with the global soft power of sport being "infected" by criminal activity. Former professional poker player and Labour donor Derek Webb, founder of CFG, states that the Gambling Commission's understanding of the black market is insufficient to tackle the issue effectively.
The Premier League has also been impacted by piracy, with its anti-piracy team removing over 230,000 live streams from social media platforms and over 430,000 copyright-infringing links from Google during the 2024-25 season. However, the new report highlights the scale of the problem it is facing.
The CFG's national report has called for greater action to be taken by regulators to combat the black market, citing concerns that crime can make money from stolen sports content and ultimately perpetuates further crime. With the UK's online gambling marketplace expected to continue growing, it remains to be seen whether policymakers will take sufficient steps to address this issue.
The UK has witnessed a significant surge in sports streaming piracy, with a staggering 3.6 billion illegal streams reported in the past three years, according to a recent report by Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG). This represents a more than doubling of the previous year's numbers, highlighting the ongoing challenge faced by broadcasters and leagues in combating piracy.
The report also reveals a symbiotic relationship between sports piracy and unlicensed gambling, with 89% of illegal streams featuring adverts for black-market bookmakers. This has led to a significant increase in unlicensed operators earning £379 million in the first half of 2025, taking up 9% of Britain's £8.2 billion online gambling marketplace.
The growth of unlicensed betting has been fueled by tax changes introduced in April, which have increased online gaming duty from 21% to 40%. This change is expected to further fuel the growth of unlicensed operators, who are already capitalizing on the lucrative sports streaming market.
Industry experts warn that Britain is becoming a soft touch for organized crime, with the global soft power of sport being "infected" by criminal activity. Former professional poker player and Labour donor Derek Webb, founder of CFG, states that the Gambling Commission's understanding of the black market is insufficient to tackle the issue effectively.
The Premier League has also been impacted by piracy, with its anti-piracy team removing over 230,000 live streams from social media platforms and over 430,000 copyright-infringing links from Google during the 2024-25 season. However, the new report highlights the scale of the problem it is facing.
The CFG's national report has called for greater action to be taken by regulators to combat the black market, citing concerns that crime can make money from stolen sports content and ultimately perpetuates further crime. With the UK's online gambling marketplace expected to continue growing, it remains to be seen whether policymakers will take sufficient steps to address this issue.
I'm so boooored with these new tax changes, always thinkin' about dodgy operators makin' that extra cash on illegal streams... and now they're gettin' away with £379 million?! 
That's just not right, mate. We should be supportin' the legit stuff instead of fuelin' black market operations. It's like, what's next? Gonna see more unlicensed operators poppin' up everywhere? 
The Premier League is doin' its part, but it's all about how much pressure they can put on regulators to do somethin' about it... 
I'm so frustrated with all these pirate streams 
. It's like they think they can just waltz in and steal other people's content for free 
. I'm all for fair competition, but not when it comes at the expense of others' livelihoods 
.
. I think we need to crack down on these black-market operators and make sure they're not taking advantage of loopholes in the system 
. The Gambling Commission needs to get its act together and figure out how to tackle this issue effectively 
.
. We need to take this seriously and make sure we're not enabling these crimes 
. I'm all for finding alternative solutions, like affordable streaming options or community-driven initiatives 
, but we can't just sit back and let piracy run rampant 
what's next? are they gonna start selling pirated games or something? 
and if we wanna tackle organized crime, we gotta think outside the box 
they just need to figure out a way to crack down on these black-market ops without hurting the legit businesses 
. It's not just about shutting down websites or links – we need to address the root cause of why people are turning to piracy in the first place 
️... there's some serious money at stake here 
. They need to take action to protect their content and make sure that those who are profiting from piracy are held accountable 
. We can't just sit back and let crime take over our online spaces 