Egypt jails two for operating illegal football streaming site

An Egyptian court has sentenced two operators of the illegal live-streaming service StreamEast to two years in prison. The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), a global anti-piracy coalition, announced the ruling.

StreamEast became the world's largest illegal live-streaming operation for sports, accumulating over 1.6 billion visits across more than 120 associated domains before its closure in 2025. The platform illegally broadcasted major European football leagues, including the Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, and Portugal's Primeira Liga. It also provided illicit access to content from competitions like the Champions League, FIFA World Cup, Euro Cup, and Copa América, as well as sports like NBA, NHL, MLB, MMA, Formula 1, and Moto GP.

In addition to the prison sentences, the court imposed fines totaling 5.5 million Egyptian pounds (over $100,000 USD). The court also ordered the confiscation of assets used in the operation and the closure of several domains linked to the network. Cable Network Egypt (CNE), a leading pay-TV distribution company in Egypt, also filed a civil lawsuit, seeking provisional compensation and legal costs from the defendants.