Dodgy box crackdown in Ireland: the latest

If you only read one thing about the crackdown, read this: in the space of a year, the action moved from a Wexford reseller to the 304 people who paid him. This page keeps track of what has happened, in order, with the source for each item. We update it when something changes; the date at the top tells you when we last checked.

The timeline

The Wexford case, in plain English

This is the one that changed everything, so it’s worth walking through.

Sky brought civil proceedings against a Wexford-based reseller. The Irish Times reported in July 2025 that Sky alleged he had earned up to €450,000 a year and had “thousands” of customers since 2018. The court had already granted an Anton Piller order (a search of the premises) and a Mareva order (freezing assets) in May 2025. In July the judge entered judgment for €480,000 in damages and about €100,000 in costs.

The case did not end there. In August 2025 the Irish Times reported a €30,000 fine for criminal contempt, for destroying evidence and refusing entry when the search order was executed.

And then it turned towards the customers. In March 2026 the court granted a Norwich Pharmacal order, which is the mechanism for getting a third party to identify wrongdoers. The third party here was a payment provider, and the order covered 304 subscribers and 10 resellers. The application was supported by Premier Sports, GAA+, LOITV and Clubber, which tells you the GAA and League of Ireland streaming services are as invested in this as Sky is.

Sky’s counsel told the court it “would just not be possible to bring cases against all 304 subscribers”. Two months later, around 200 households received letters.

What the letters say

According to the Irish Times in May 2026, the letters demanded a signed undertaking within two weeks and warned that injunctions, damages and costs could follow otherwise. The letters themselves state that an undertaking is legally binding and advise recipients to seek independent legal advice. A follow-up round of “final warning” letters went out in June 2026, and the Wexford People described the households involved as defiant.

If that’s you, read got a letter?, and for what the law actually says, is it illegal?. The single most important line on that page is: talk to your own solicitor before you sign or ignore anything.

The blocking orders

This part affects everyone with a dodgy box, letter or no letter.

The Irish Times reported in July 2025 that the Premier League’s blocking order, first granted in 2019, was extended to cover the 2025/26 and 2026/27 seasons, and that UEFA’s order was extended for a fourth time. Both apply to Eir, Virgin Media, Sky Ireland and Vodafone. The way it works, per the original 2019 report, is that streams are blocked “in real time”, with the list of addresses refreshed at least twice during a match, and the blocks lifted afterwards.

Sky’s evidence in 2025 was that the proportion of streams disrupted is “very significant”. In practice, that means the stream dies mid-match.

Sellers are being closed down

FACT, the anti-piracy body that works with Sky, reported in July 2026 that around 70 illegal services had been closed since March 2023. In February 2026 the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau was involved in the Galway search that closed a 200-account service. Sellers have been prosecuted under money-laundering law, as in the 2024 Kildare case, as well as pursued in civil proceedings.

For a subscriber this has a practical consequence. When the seller is shut down, the service goes with him, and so does the €100 you paid in January. FACT’s note in July 2026 put it plainly: users “have no formal route to support or a refund”.

What we don’t know

We try not to overstate this. As of the date at the top of this page:

• We have not found a report of an Irish end user actually being sued to judgment or fined.
• We have not found a DAZN blocking order in Ireland; the reported orders are the Premier League’s and UEFA’s.
• We have not found a Garda arrest or conviction for IPTV reselling dated 2025 or 2026; the Galway search produced no arrests.

What to do about it

If you have a dodgy box, the risk is no longer hypothetical, and the streams were never reliable anyway. The good news is that the same telly is cheaper than you think when you stop paying for everything.

Start with what’s free: RTÉ, Virgin Media and TG4 through Saorview, BBC and ITV by satellite. Then add a sports subscription only for the months your competition actually runs. The finder builds that plan for you, cheapest option first, and tells you when to cancel.