Streameast, considered the largest illegal sports streaming service, was reportedly shut down after a year-long investigation, according to The Athletic.
The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) said it worked with Egyptian law enforcement officials to disrupt the service Aug. 24, per the Athletic. ACE is an anti-piracy coalition comprised of multiple media organizations, including Amazon and Netflix, among other companies.
Streameast reportedly generated 1.6 billion visits over the past year, per the Athletic. The service offered illegal streams of Premier League and Champions League games, as well as NFL, MLB and NBA contests. It also provided pirated access to pay-per-view events, like certain MMA fights. Streameast reportedly drew 136 million average monthly visits.
Two men were arrested in Egypt as part of the operation. Authorities reportedly seized laptops and smart phones that allegedly helped operate the site. The raid also uncovered a shell company in which its believed $6.2 million in ad revenue was laundered. Roughly $200,000 in cryptocurrency was also uncovered. It's believed multiple real estate properties in Egypt were purchased with the illicit funds, per The Athletic.
ACE collaborated with a number of goverment agencies, including, "Europol, the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Centre," per the Athletic.
ACE chairman Charles Rivkin told The Athletic the raid was a "resounding victory" against digital piracy.
Following the raid, Streameast's original domain is no longer available, though replacement services have already popped up. ACE told The Athletic it was aware of "copycat" sites, and are looking into the issue.