Global Police Operation Shuts Down Streameast, World’s Largest Illegal Sports Streaming Platform
Cairo, Egypt – A major international law enforcement effort led by Egyptian authorities has dismantled Streameast, a notorious online platform that illegally streamed live sports events to millions of users worldwide. The takedown marks a significant victory in the ongoing fight against online piracy and represents a major disruption to the illicit sports streaming ecosystem.
Streameast offered unauthorized access to a vast array of sporting content, including major events like the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro, UEFA Nations League, Copa América, Champions League, and Europa League. The platform also featured streams of U.S. sports such as NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB, alongside PPV boxing, MMA, Formula One, and MotoGP.
The disruption began six days prior to today’s confirmation, with users reporting access issues and stream failures on reddit. Authorities have arrested two individuals in El-Sheikh Zaid, giza Governorate, Egypt, and seized laptops, smartphones, cash, and credit cards.
Investigators uncovered a financial scheme linked to the operation, tracing advertising revenue of $6.2 million laundered through a UAE shell company since 2010, in addition to $200,000 in cryptocurrency.
“Dismantling Streameast is a major victory for everyone who invests in and relies on the live sports ecosystem,” said Ed McCarthy, COO of DAZN Group, in a statement released by the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE). “This criminal operation was siphoning value from sports at every level and putting fans across the world at risk.”
Eighty domains previously associated with Streameast now redirect to ACE’s “Watch Legally” website, providing links to legitimate content providers. Though, some domains remain active, suggesting the operation may not have seized all assets or that new domains have already been registered.
The takedown underscores the growing international cooperation in combating online piracy and protecting intellectual property rights in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.
