Illegal Sports Streaming in UK Soared 33% in First Half of 2025

Illegal sports streaming is surging in the UK, fueled by sites that are largely funded by advertising from unlicensed gambling operators, as fans seek to dodge rising subscription costs on legitimate platforms.

The top 10 unauthorized pirated sports sites in the UK drew 1.6 billion views in the first half of 2025, up by a third from the previous year, according to a report from data analytics firm Yield Sec published Thursday.