Technology

GCI: The World Cup’s 174 Billion Illegal Streaming Problem

Published

3 months ago

August 19, 2026

GCI estimates 174.3 billion qualifying illegal stream views globally across the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with 95% carrying advertising for unregulated gambling

HENDERSON, Nev. , Aug. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Gaming Compliance International (GCI) today releases its first complete global measurement of illegal streaming across the 2026 FIFA World Cup, estimating 174.3 billion qualifying illegal stream views of 90 seconds plus (90S+) globally across the tournament.

GCI’s analysis found:

174.3 billion qualifying illegal stream views of 90S+ globally across the tournament1.68 billion average qualifying illegal stream views of 90S+ per match, globally6.2 billion qualifying illegal stream views of 90S+ globally for the Spain vs Argentina Final95% of qualifying illegal stream views of 90S+ globally carried advertising for unregulated gambling

The estimate is derived from GCI’s global monitoring and marketplace intelligence, using multiple proprietary and third-party licensed data sources.

A qualifying illegal stream view requires at least 90 seconds of streaming, denoting a “committed view”. This is a stream-view measure, not a unique viewer count. The methodology accounts for stream interruptions, forced refreshes, reloads, mirror switches and channel resets throughout each match.

Before the World Cup

Before the 2026 FIFA World Cup, GCI President Ismail Vali made two predictions to Forbes: Spain would lift the trophy, and the tournament’s biggest beneficiary would be crime and unregulated gambling.

Spain won the World Cup.

GCI’s post-tournament analysis now reveals the scale of the second warning: 174.3 billion qualifying illegal stream views globally, with 95% carrying advertising for unregulated gambling.

The Dark Nexus

GCI’s analysis identifies a dark nexus between illegal streaming and unregulated online gambling.

When professional sports returned at the end of the pandemic, this relationship had become a cornerstone of the unregulated online gambling economy. Illegal streaming of sports is now a core gateway through which unregulated gambling operators can reach huge mainstream audiences and pay for that exposure and customer acquisition through pay-on-performance affiliate deals.

GCI monitoring shows that illegal streamers can receive payment for advertising and referring audiences to unregulated gambling, with affiliate deals offering between 25% and 50% of net gaming revenue produced by unregulated gambling operators from referred customers.

The result is a powerful illegal economy: premium sports content attracts mainstream audiences; illegal streaming monetizes that attention; and unregulated gambling pays to acquire those audiences.

This relationship was previously identified by GCI in Great Britain. Analysis released in January 2026 found 3.1 billion illegal stream views of 90 seconds plus across the Top 10 sports in Great Britain during 2024 and another 1.6 billion during the first half of 2025, with unregulated gambling advertising present upon 89% of illegal sports streams.

The World Cup demonstrates the same relationship at global scale.

One Marketplace

Consumers experience one marketplace, in which legal and illegal streaming compete for the same audience.

Legal streaming can introduce additional consumer friction through access restrictions, platform fragmentation, latency, buffering and differences in service or picture quality. Illegal streaming steals that same premium sports content and competes within that same marketplace by offering audiences all the sports, in one place, for “free”.

The commercial consequences extend across the sports ecosystem. Legal broadcasting supports rights holders, broadcasters and the wider sports ecosystem. Illegal streaming extracts value from that system while simultaneously creating a customer-acquisition channel for unregulated gambling.

The scale of that potential extraction is illustrated by GCI’s question:

If just 1% of illegal stream views had gone through legal channels, how much more revenue could have been distributed to rights holders, broadcasters and other stakeholders in the wider sports ecosystem?

$593 Billion World Cup Gambling Marketplace

Illegal streaming sits within a much larger unregulated online gambling economy.

GCI estimated the 2026 FIFA World Cup would generate $593 billion in global online betting handle — the value of money wagered on World Cup betting online.

Of that total, $409 billion — 69% — was unregulated, compared with $184 billion — 31% — regulated.

While regulated operators saw record activity, the majority of wagering value flowed through offshore, unregulated and unlicensed channels.

Illegal streaming connects these two parts of the marketplace by delivering sports audiences to unregulated gambling operators while those consumers are watching live events and each game presents fresh betting prospects.

When Content Is “Free”

The commercial relationship with unregulated gambling is not the only risk associated with illegal streaming.

GCI’s analysis found that video players, pop-ups and fake “click to watch in HD/4K” buttons can hide malware, spyware and keystroke loggers, exposing audiences to data harvesting and other forms of cybercrime.

For illegal streaming, unregulated gambling provides a short-term revenue engine. The longer-term opportunity can be the audience itself.

Given the duration of sports events, particularly World Cup matches, GCI warns that audiences can unwittingly provide crime with a 90-minute-plus window into their “digital soul”.

Leadership Commentary:

Matt Holt, CEO of Gaming Compliance International (GCI), said:
“174 billion qualifying illegal stream views should remove any remaining illusion that illegal streaming is a marginal problem for sport. Consumers experience one marketplace, and illegal streaming is an industrial-scale part of it — competing for the same audiences and extracting value that should support rights holders, broadcasters and the wider sports ecosystem.

“When 95% of qualifying illegal stream views carry advertising for unregulated gambling, illegal streaming is not simply stealing content. It is providing one of the world’s largest sporting audiences as an acquisition channel for the unregulated gambling economy.”

Ismail Vali, President of Gaming Compliance International (GCI) and founder and former CEO of Yield Sec, added:
“The World Cup showed us the dark nexus between illegal streaming and unregulated gambling at a scale we have never measured before.

“Consumers experience one marketplace. Legal broadcasters pay for rights, invest in content and compete for audiences. Illegal streaming steals the same content, puts it all in one place for ‘free’, and monetizes the audience through unregulated gambling and other forms of crime.

“That is where displacement becomes replacement.

“Crime does not need to create the football, own the rights or stage the World Cup. It simply needs to steal the content, capture the audience and monetize both. And what does crime do with the money it makes? It makes more crime.

“The answer is not another game of whack-a-mole against individual URLs. We need to understand and act upon the entire marketplace: monitor it, police the illegal ecosystem and its supply chain, enforce proportionately, and optimize the legal sector so consumers have every reason to remain within it.”

The full GCI Illegal Streaming – Global: World Cup 2026 report is available from Gaming Compliance International (GCI).

About Gaming Compliance International (GCI)

GCI is the proven leader in regulatory gaming compliance technology and consultancy, providing a single-source, AI-powered platform for player protection, advertising and media content monitoring, black-market mitigation, automated data capture, revenue auditing, and operator compliance reporting.

GCI’s focus is on enhancing marketplace transparency and revenue optimization for governments, regulators, and licensed operators while establishing a robust compliance framework that protects jurisdictions, audiences, and the broader gaming ecosystem.

www.gamingcompliance.com

Media Contact
Alastair Graham,
SVP Strategic Operations, Gaming Compliance International (GCI)
+63 917 312 7802 | alastair.graham@gamingcompliance.com

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SOURCE Gaming Compliance International

Technology

Budget 2026: Masters of our Destiny – Minister Miller announces the rollout of $600 million targeted support to Canada’s audio and audiovisual sectors

Published

36 minutes ago

November 8, 2026

As announced in Budget 2026, the Government of Canada is providing important measures to support the audio and audiovisual sectors, and to protect access to public service media, productions from official language minority communities, Indigenous content, accessible programming, and local news.

GATINEAU, QC, Nov. 8, 2026 /CNW/ — In an increasingly turbulent world, Canada is determining its future. The federal Budget 2026 aims to make Canadians masters of their own destiny. The Canadian audio and audiovisual sectors are a major source of economic activity and jobs as well as a cornerstone of our country’s cultural sovereignty.

Budget 2026 confirmed a $600 Million dollar investment in the audio and audiovisual sectors for this fiscal year. Today, the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages, announced the funding rollout of these significant funds that will provide stability and direct support to the sectors while longer-term policy, regulatory and market conditions evolve.

The Government will focus on stabilizing Canada’s audio, audiovisual and news sectors while keeping Canadian culture accessible and affordable. To ensure rapid and effective delivery, the funding will be delivered through the following six existing programs and institutions that have proven efficiency and have trusted industry funding tools:

Canada Media Fund,Indigenous Screen Office,Canada Music Fund,Northern Aboriginal Broadcasting,Canada History Fund, andTelefilm Canada.

This new direct funding allocation will support Canada’s creativity, arts and culture by ensuring that:

Canada’s audio and audiovisual sectors become more competitive and resilient;Canadians can continue to consume homegrown content on multiple platforms;A broad range of Canadian music is consumed in Canada and abroad;More Indigenous people work on audiovisual content production and lead such projects and, so that the overall representation of Indigenous peoples in audiovisual media is improved; andCanadians across the country can experience stories that bring Canada’s history to life.

The funding rollout details as well as its administration and implementation are listed in the attached backgrounder.

Partnering organizations and programs will provide more details on their specific funding components as soon as possible.

Quotes

“Strengthening our audio and audiovisual sectors is at the core of protecting Canada’s sovereignty, our culture and our languages. With this crucial support, we will provide direct funding and much-needed stability so that our country’s artists, storytellers, creative entrepreneurs and cultural organizations can continue creating Canadian content that reflects who we are and helps us remain masters of our destiny.”

–Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages

Quick Facts

In June, the government announced it would update the directions to the CRTC on regulating online streaming services, with a focus on affordability, and that it would invest $600 million to provide stability and support to Canada’s audio and audiovisual sectors.Canadian culture, including the music, audio and audiovisual sectors, are strategic assets and key economic drivers that directly contributed $69.1 billion to the GDP in 2025 and employed 687,824 people as of March 31, 2026.

Related Products

Budget 2026: Masters of our destiny – Backgrounder: Administration and implementation of $600 Million targeted support for Canada’s audio and audiovisual sectorsGovernment of Canada announces immediate support to strengthen Canadian culture and ensure Canadian content remains affordable

Associated Links

Budget 2026: Masters of our destiny Canada Media Fund Indigenous Screen Office program Canada Music Fund Northern Aboriginal Broadcasting Canada History Fund Telefilm Canada

Budget 2026: Masters of our destiny – Backgrounder: Administration and implementation of $600 Million targeted support for Canada’s audio and audiovisual sectors

Following the announcement of Budget 2026, the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages, today announced the funding rollout of the $600 Million investment that will provide stability and direct support to Canada’s audio and audiovisual sectors while longer-term policy, regulatory and market conditions evolve.

The Government will focus on stabilizing Canada’s audio, audiovisual and news sectors while keeping Canadian culture accessible and affordable. It will help sustain public-interest programming, local and community media, official language minority community production, the production and promotion of Canadian and Indigenous content, and the continued operation of services of exceptional importance.
This list provides details of the funding administration and implementation.

This list provides details of the funding administration and implementation.

List of organizations and funding mechanisms that will distribute the funding support

Recipient

Funding allocation description

Funded
amount

Canada Media Fund Corporation

Certified Independent Production Funds, the Broadcasting Accessibility Fund, the Independent Local News Fund and Commercial Radio News Fund, the Community Radio Fund, the Broadcasting Participation Fund and Public Service Media

Canada Media Fund Corporation:

This funding will help sustain Canadian content creation and mitigate the impact of declining private-sector contributions from cable and satellite companies, as well as expected contributions from international streaming platforms. The Canada Media Fund Corporation will rapidly deploy the new funding through enhancements to existing programs and the introduction of new initiatives that will support the entire value chain of the industry: from training, to creation, to production, to promotion, to sector and business development. Priority areas will also include francophone programming, children and youth content, interactive digital media (IDM), distribution and export initiatives. As an independent not-for-profit, the Canada Media Fund Corporation will allocate these funds through its programs based on industry needs.

Various independents funds:

Delivered by the Department of Canadian Heritage, this funding will include:

Certified Independent Production Funds such as the Black Screen Office, Canadian Independent Screen Fund, Broadcasting Accessibility Fund, Bell Fund, Independent Production Fund, TELUS Fund, Quebecor Fund, Shaw Rocket Fund, Vox Fund and M.É.D.I.A Fund. These will support diverse, accessible and inclusive content and official languages minorities communities;

The Independent Local News Fund and Commercial Radio News Fund will sustain independent local television and commercial radio news, through the Canadian Association of Broadcasters; the Community Radio Fund will strengthen community radio through operational support and sector development;

Together, these investments will extend supported activities beyond content production to address priorities across the broader broadcasting ecosystem, including diversity and accessibility, local news, community radio and public participation in the broadcasting system; The Public Service Media component will be used to deliver additional support to Services of Exceptional Importance, such as the Canadian Public Affairs Channel, Aboriginal Peoples Television Network and TV5 Québec Canada. Funding will ensure the continued operation of these services through support for technology modernization, infrastructure renewal, digital transformation, programming, production, discoverability, accessibility and preservation. This funding would serve as a bridge toward the implementation of a Services of Exceptional Importance Fund.

Certified Independent Production Funds: $44M

Independent Local News Fund: $80M

Commercial Radio News Fund: $11.5M

Community Radio Fund: $7.5M

Services of exceptional importance: $42.1M

$213.4 million

$185.1 million

Indigenous Screen Office

The Indigenous Screen Office will support the Indigenous audiovisual sector and for the production, promotion and discoverability of Indigenous audiovisual content in Canada and abroad. The funding will help grow Indigenous content creation, support the development of this sector and increase international collaborations between Indigenous creators from Canada and abroad. The Indigenous Screen Office corporation, as an Indigenous-led and independent third party, will allocate funding through its programs based on industry needs.

$51 million

Canada Music Fund

Canadian Heritage’s Canada Music Fund will provide support for the production and promotion of Canadian and Indigenous music. This funding will be further distributed by the Canada Music Fund’s two current initial recipients, the Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings (FACTOR) and Fondation Musicaction (Musicaction) and three new initial recipients: the Canadian Starmaker Fund, Fonds RadioStar, and the Indigenous Music Office (IMO).

FACTOR: $31.5M

Musicaction: $21.0M

Canadian Starmaker Fund: $5.7M

Fonds RadioStar : $3.8M

IMO : $5.0M

$67 million

Northern Aboriginal Broadcasting

Canadian Heritage will fund culturally relevant Indigenous radio and television content through its Northern Aboriginal Broadcasting program. The funding will benefit Indigenous broadcasters to continue preserving, promoting and revitalizing Indigenous languages and provide platforms for Indigenous audiences to discuss issues important to their communities.

$10 million

Canada History Fund

Through the Canada History Fund, Canadian Heritage will provide funding to support audiovisual programming and related costs.

Up to $5 million

Telefilm Canada

Telefilm Canada will allocate its funding to support the sustainability and growth of the audiovisual industry, as well as the competitiveness and international reach of Canadian and Indigenous feature films, with an audience-driven approach. As a Crown corporation, Telefilm Canada will receive funding through parliamentary appropriations.

$68.5 million

Total targeted support to Canada’s audio and audiovisual sectors in 2026-2027

$600 million

Note: In June, the government announced it would update the directions to the CRTC on regulating online streaming services, with a focus on affordability.

SOURCE Canadian Heritage

Technology

KeyStone Solutions Wins 2026 MSP 501 Vanguard Award for Innovation

Published

4 hours ago

November 8, 2026

KeyStone Solutions, a managed IT and cybersecurity provider based in Cleveland, Tennessee, has won the 2026 MSP 501 Vanguard Award from Channel Partners and MSP Summit. The award recognizes managed service providers at the forefront of technology and service innovation.

CLEVELAND, Nov. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — KeyStone Solutions, LLC has won the 2026 MSP 501 Vanguard Award from Channel Partners and MSP Summit. The award was presented Sept. 30 at the MSP 501 Gala during the MSP Summit in Orlando, Fla.

“Our team has done tremendous work over the last year to modernize and automate our service delivery.” Preston West, CEO, KeyStone Solutions

The MSP 501 Special Awards are application-based. A panel of industry leaders, including top global MSPs, analysts and past award recipients, judges each entry.

The Vanguard Award goes to a company at the forefront of technology and service innovation in the managed services channel, including AI, cybersecurity and cloud. Winners use original thinking to meet clients’ needs and to drive their own financial success.

“We are honored to be recognized. Our team has done tremendous work over the last year to modernize and automate our service delivery. I couldn’t be prouder of their hard work and their focus on the customer experience,” said Preston West, CEO of KeyStone Solutions.

“To qualify for the Vanguard award, companies had to document what they have done in terms of innovative and original thinking in meeting clients’ needs and how this has contributed to the company’s overall financial success,” said Dave Raffo, MSP 501 editor who oversees the awards process. “These are among the most innovative MSPs in the world.”

“The MSP 501 Special Awards represent the pinnacle of achievement in the managed services industry, recognizing organizations and individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership, innovation, and impact,” said Robert DeMarzo, VP Content, Informa Channels, which conducts the MSP 501 survey each year.

About KeyStone Solutions, LLC

KeyStone Solutions is a managed IT and cybersecurity company based in Cleveland, Tennessee. Since 2006, KeyStone has worked as the IT department for hundreds of small and mid-sized businesses, with customers headquartered in 15 states. Its ITTaaS® (IT Team as a Service) offering delivers help desk support and cybersecurity, with optional vCISO and GRC services, and the company now provides AI services. KeyStone holds a SOC 2 Type II report and is a Microsoft 365 Solutions Partner. Learn more at keystone.solutions.

About Channel Partners, MSP Summit and the MSP 501

Channel Partners Conference & Expo and MSP Summit serve the global community of technology advisors, managed service providers, channel partners and technology suppliers, and run the MSP 501, which honors the world’s top-performing managed service providers. Learn more at themspsummit.com.

Media Contact

Richard King, KeyStone Solutions, 1 4234646424, rking@keystone.solutions, www.keystone.solutions

Dave Raffo, Informa, david.raffo@informa.com, informa.com

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SOURCE KeyStone Solutions

Technology

Putting Young Innovators Center Stage: Leaders In Future Tech+ Wraps with ¥526 Million in Investment Intentions and 31 Enterprise Landings

Published

9 hours ago

November 8, 2026

NANJING, China, Nov. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On November 7, the grand finale of Leaders In Future Tech+ — a documentary sci-tech innovation program jointly produced by China Media Group, the Ministry of Education, and the Nanjing Municipal People’s Government — aired as the Youth Innovation Carnival.

Since its October 3 premiere, the program traveled to 10 cities across China, selecting 100 teams of young innovators with an average age of just 28 from nearly 500 applicants. Fifteen finalists advanced to the finale, presenting breakthroughs spanning AI chips, optical interconnect, biomedicine, smart agriculture, and more.

To date, the program has facilitated ¥526 million in investment intentions covering 34 participating enterprises, and helped 31 companies reach landing agreements with 11 districts and counties of Nanjing.

At the carnival, the “Leaders In Future Tech+ Little Giant Transformation Plan” was launched, with 13 enterprises selected in the first batch to receive a five-module service system guiding them toward specialized, high-end development.

Behind these numbers is a media-driven innovation model: closed-door investment meetings were turned into open, transparent dialogues, connecting young innovators directly with venture capital firms, academicians, industry experts, and local governments — with the focus not on short-term commercial maturity, but on long-term growth potential.

The finale also showed how technology serves everyday life: non-invasive brain-computer interface demonstrations, low-cost bone-repair materials, and ultra-low-cost fresh-keeping cards that reduce agricultural loss — each a footnote to innovation with human warmth.

With Season One concluded, Season Two recruitment is now open to innovation teams nationwide via China Media Group’s official channels and the Yangshipin app (CMG Mobile). As the program’s message goes: put young innovators at center stage — and hand the future to innovation.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/putting-young-innovators-center-stage-leaders-in-future-tech-wraps-with-526-million-in-investment-intentions-and-31-enterprise-landings-302932710.html

SOURCE China Media Group