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The noose is tightening on lovers of illegal football streams after another man was handed a jail term over EPL streaming just months after owners of Hesgoal were convicted for 11 years
Fans of illegal football streaming should be more worried after a man was jailed in the United Kingdom on Thursday for two-and-a-half years for providing illegal ‘firesticks’ to customers which showed Premier League matches.
Steven Mills, 58, ran the organisation which sold ‘fire sticks’ via a closed Facebook group and claimed to have more than 30,000 subscribers.
Trading under the names Pikabox and Eyepeeteevee, his organisation received more than £1 million (Ksh181 million) in five years according to UK outlet the Dailymail.
Mills pleaded guilty in June to multiple fraud offences at Shrewsbury Crown Court and was sentenced following a joint investigation by the Premier League, West Mercia Police, and anti-piracy organisation FACT.
In another step, police and FACT officials visited a number of households where individuals were known to be using the ‘firesticks’ and warned them to cease illegal streaming with immediate effect. The enquiry and subsequent raids identified over 1,000 of Mills' customers.
“The sentence handed down by the Crown Court today (Thursday) once again clearly demonstrates the severity of piracy-related offences and the consequences that come with them,” Premier League General Counsel Kevin Plumb said as quoted by the Dailymail.
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12:13 - 31.05.2023
FOOTBALL Hesgoal owners among those jailed for 11 years over illegal Premier League streaming
England's Premier League is the most lucrative football league in the world.
The prosecution follows the news earlier this year which resulted in five individuals being jailed for a total of 30 years and seven months in the world’s largest-ever prosecution of an illegal streaming network.
As reported by AFP, the members of the gang, who included owners of the popular Hesgoal, received prison terms ranging from three to 11 years each after the Premier League brought what it said was "the world's largest-ever prosecution of an illegal streaming network".
The defendants, aged between 30 and 46, raked in more than £7 million (Ksh1.26 billion) selling subscriptions to three illegal platforms streaming to over 50,000 customers and resellers.
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