"America Is Being Stolen From": Illegal Streaming of Live Sports is Fueling a $67 Billion Black Market in Online Gambling, says CFG
- 4.2 billion illegal streams of sports events (90+ seconds) were tracked across the top 10 US sports in 2024.
- 82% of those streams promoted illegal online gambling, driving a $67 billion black market in the US.
- 84% of those illegal stream views were laced with malware, spyware, or keystroke loggers - turning viewers into victims.
- With basketball and soccer in the top 10 of the most illegally streamed sports in the USA, the NBA Finals and FIFA Club World Cup are driving peaks of illegal streaming.
WASHINGTON, June 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As millions of sports fans watched the NBA Finals last week and the FIFA Club World Cup this week, a powerful criminal machine is watching them. A new report by online intelligence platform Yield Sec, commissioned by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG), reveals the scale of the illegal streaming of sports events in the USA - and its central role in powering a $67 billion illegal online gambling economy.
In 2024 alone, more than 4.2 billion illegal sports streams (measured at 90 seconds plus) were accessed across the US, with 82% of the illegal streams promoting illegal online gambling. Illegal online gambling is the commercial engine behind the theft of premium sports content.
The report reveals the mechanics of the black market: 84% of illegal sports streams in 2024 were embedded with malware, spyware or keystroke loggers, turning users' devices into gateways for data theft, online exploitation and profiling, to make them immediate and future victims of crime. What looks like free entertainment to unsuspecting consumers is in fact a vehicle for monetising crime. Far from being "free," the content is a lure - and the audience becomes the product.
While criminals profit, sports leagues and teams, such as the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS and MLB, and, legitimate broadcasters such as Apple, Amazon, Netflix, DAZN, ESPN, ABC, CBS, Fox, TNT Sports, UFC, WWE and Warner Bros. Discovery, are undermined and stolen from on an industrial scale.
Derek Webb, Founder of the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, said: "Illegal streaming and illegal gambling have formed a dark nexus - a transnational network of techno crime. There are only six countries which the US had a higher trade deficit with in 2024 than the $67 billion lost to illegal online gambling. The US has long exercised soft power through the global reach of its sports and entertainment content. The federal government needs to recognize the value of that soft power and act on the duty to protect online borders and defend the economy."
Ismail Vali, Founder and CEO of Yield Sec, comments: "Illegal streaming is a Trojan Horse for digital crime, hiding exploitation and theft behind the lure of "free" content. Yield Sec data makes clear that the presence of crime across the streaming ecosystem is not just widespread - it's organised and monetized, fueled by illegal gambling and fooling consumers into believing they can get something for nothing.
The first question illegal streaming viewers should be asking themselves when they become victims of online crime is this: "When did I last illegally stream?". Monitoring, policing and enforcing against illegal streaming must be a priority across all legal stakeholders - from media companies and broadcasters to sports leagues and teams, to ISPs and tech platforms, to streaming entertainment businesses and the marketing supply chain.
America is being stolen from by crime across its sports ecosystem, risking the future of premium sports content that the audience demands and desires, and the future sustainable growth and development of American sports."
Key Findings from the Illegal Streaming Report:
- 4.2 billion illegal sports streams of 90 seconds and over were accessed in the US during 2024, across the Top 10 US Sports
- 82% of these illegal streams carried sponsorship, promotions and advertising for illegal gambling.
- 84% of these illegal streams contained malware or spyware tools designed to harvest user data and spy on unwitting audiences to make them future victims of crime
- Illegal online gambling reached a gross gaming revenue (GGR) value of $67.1 billion in the USA in 2024 - nearly treble the size of the legal online industry ($23.0 billion).
For further information and to access the full CFG USA 2024 Illegal Streaming of Sports Events & Illegal Gambling briefing and full CFG USA 2024 National Online Gambling Report, please contact:
Head of Press:
Yasmine Scott
Yasmine.scott@yieldsec.com
About The Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG): The Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG) exists to advance a politically bipartisan and scientifically evidenced agenda of gambling reform. CFG will be active across America because the nationwide debate over gambling needs more balance and trustworthy data. For more information, visit fairergambling.com
About Yield Sec: Yield Sec, short for yield security, is a technical intelligence platform monitoring all audience activity across streaming, gambling, crypto and consumer goods to see the total online marketplace - both legal and illegal. Yield Sec delivers analysis, actions and recommendations to ensure online stakeholders make the money they should - and are not stolen from by crime.
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