DAZN Strikes Back: Court Backs Aggressive Crackdown on Illegal Streaming — Is This the Endgame for Boxing Streams?

In a decisive legal victory for sports broadcasting integrity, DAZN — in collaboration with 12th Player — has secured a powerful court order in Belgium, forcing both Internet Service Providers and public DNS resolver operators to block more than 130 pirate streaming domains and five illegal IPTV platforms.

This isn’t just a symbolic win. It’s a legally binding directive backed by €100,000 per day in fines for non-compliance, issued by the Brussels Enterprise Court. Platforms like Cloudflare, Google, and Cisco, once seen as untouchable digital middlemen, have now been formally ordered to disable DNS access to infringing domains — or pay the price.

DAZN hailed the move as the “first of its kind” and “a real step forward” in the fight against content theft in Belgium.

For once, the law is catching up — and it’s making illegal streaming painful, expensive, and increasingly futile.

Praise Where It’s Due: DAZN Is Doing What the Industry Has Avoided for Years

While others moan about piracy, DAZN is actually fighting it. This isn’t a PR stunt — it’s a legal enforcement strategy with international implications.

• DAZN operates in over 200 countries.

• It holds massive boxing rights, including multi-year deals with Matchroom Boxing and Queensberry Promotions.

• Its platform carries top-tier events in boxing, MMA, and football — all under constant threat from freeloaders who think “illegal streaming” is a victimless crime.

Well, it’s not. As DAZN’s Head of Global Rights, Tom Burrows, bluntly stated at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit:

“We’re getting to the stage where it’s almost a crisis for the sports rights industry.”

“Media-rights deals have been done on the basis of exclusivity but I think there’s almost an argument to say you can’t get exclusive rights anymore because piracy is so bad.”

A Legal Milestone: Dynamic Blocking with Teeth

What makes this enforcement truly landmark is its combination of dynamic blocking and DNS-level intervention. This means:

• ISPs like Proximus, Telenet, Orange Belgium, and Voo must block the infringing domains.

• Users switching to public DNS (like Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 or Google 8.8.8.8) will no longer find a backdoor, thanks to the court order.

• Cloudflare, Google, and Cisco must comply — or face daily financial penalties of €100,000.

No appeals. No drawn-out litigation. Just compliance or punishment.

This, combined with Belgium’s 2022 legal reforms, gives rightsholders an efficient, aggressive legal framework to fight piracy in real-time — something most other jurisdictions still lack.

Let’s Call It What It Is: Illegal Streamers Are Parasites

For too long, those who casually stream stolen content have pretended they’re sticking it to “greedy corporations.” The reality?

• They’re leeching off the hard work of fighters, promoters, and broadcasters.

• They’re undermining the very industry they claim to love.

• They’re cowards who avoid paying £10 while hiding behind VPNs and Telegram groups.

DAZN’s research shows that one-third of Belgians aged 16–24 use illegal streams to watch football — and similar numbers likely apply to boxing. The estimated loss? £180 million per year.

When you steal streams, you’re not sticking it to the man — you’re robbing fighters of their paydays, and killing future events.

Belgium Is Only the Beginning

With this successful Belgian case as precedent, other countries are expected to follow suit. Already, we’re seeing:

• Non-adversarial cooperation from ISPs.

• Public endorsements of blocking from telecom executives.

• Government-supported anti-piracy units working alongside broadcasters.

And now that the big tech gatekeepers are on the hook — no more excuses. DNS operators can no longer feign neutrality when their services are used to bypass legal enforcement.

Final Verdict: Illegal Streaming Just Got Its Day in Court — and Lost

The pirate community — emboldened for years by lax enforcement and tech loopholes — has finally been cornered. DAZN’s victory in Belgium shows what happens when broadcasters stop asking nicely and start using the law to fight back.

Is illegal streaming dead? Not yet.

But thanks to DAZN’s leadership, it’s finally bleeding.