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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Exclusive by Matt Hughes

Sports piracy explodes in UK with 3.6bn illegal streams and rise of black-market bookmakers

A Premier League match ball
The Premier League’s anti-piracy team removed more than 230,000 live streams from social media platforms in the 2024-25 season. Photograph: Phil Oldham/Shutterstock

The number of illegal streams of sports events in Britain has more than doubled to 3.6bn in the past three years according to a new report, which provides a stark illustration of the challenge facing broadcasters and leagues in combating piracy.

The Campaign for Fairer Gambling’s national 2024-25 report also highlights that there is a symbiotic relationship between sports piracy and unlicensed gambling, with 89% of illegal streams in this country featuring adverts for black-market bookmakers.

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