Video streaming sports over the internet has made catching your favorite team’s games easier than ever, but trying to find the right streaming provider for your region can be a headache. That’s especially true if you’re traveling, where you might find you can’t access your home streaming services at all due to regional restrictions.
So, if the game is restricted in your area, what do you do? You might search around and find out that a virtual private network, or VPN, can help you get around those geoblocks and get you back in the game, but it’s worth asking yourself: Is this actually illegal?
A VPN can make apps and websites think you’re in another city, state or even country -- but using one may violate some user agreements. We’ve broken down exactly why you might want to watch sports using a VPN, what repercussions you could face for doing so and whether a streaming provider will cut you off for using a VPN.
We’ve spent years testing VPNs for accessing sports streams, from catching NFL games while traveling to watching Premier League matches that aren’t available in the US. Even if you’re subscribed to one streaming service for watching games from a league you’re interested in, you might find the total distribution rights for the sport are split between several different providers.
A VPN could let you stream out-of-market sports matches or get better quality video
You may be able to use a VPN to watch sports content on streaming services.
A virtual private network lets you hide your public IP address, which contains your general geographical location. So with a VPN enabled, you can make apps and websites think you’re in another region. Many streaming services show you content based on your location, so you may find yourself unable to watch your favorite soccer, basketball, football or cricket team play if you’re out of the country -- or even in another state.
However, with a VPN, you can still stream US sports matches outside of the US, or UEFA Champions League games outside of Europe. Just pick a server in the city, state or country you want to make it look like you’re located in, fire up the streaming app or visit that streaming site in a web browser, and you should be able to stream the game you want to access.
If you’re streaming on a phone or tablet with cellular data, a VPN could help you get better video quality by avoiding mobile traffic-shaping. Even if you’re not using a VPN for unblocking georestricted content, a virtual private network could help for streaming. You may also be able to use a VPN to save money on streaming service subscriptions.
Using a VPN isn’t illegal, but your streaming provider may not be happy
A VPN for streaming sports could unblock regional matches, help you get better video quality while streaming on a cellular signal and provide other benefits.
In most countries, using a VPN is legal. A VPN is a legitimate privacy tool used by businesses, journalists and activists (alongside the average person) to protect their online activity from surveillance. Having a VPN installed on your device or connecting to a VPN server isn’t breaking any laws, so long as VPNs are legal in the country you’re in.
The question is, what happens when you use a VPN to access a streaming service’s content from abroad? Unfortunately, you may be violating the platform’s terms of service. When you sign up for platforms like Peacock or DAZN, you’re agreeing to terms of service that include clauses relating to how you view content.
In its terms of service, Netflix says, “You may access the Netflix content primarily within the country in which you have established your account and only in geographic locations where we offer your subscription plan and have licensed such content. The content that may be available will vary by geographic location and will change from time to time.” The company further states in its help section that “Using a VPN to access Netflix will hide your region and only allow you to see TV shows and movies available to all regions globally.”
What this means is that, depending on the streaming service you’re using, by using a VPN to make it appear you’re in a different location than you actually are, you may be breaching the contract you agree to when you use the service. However, a terms of service violation isn’t the same as breaking the law. It’s just a civil matter between you and the service provider, not a criminal offense. As such, the service provider has a limited number of ways to stop you from using a VPN. You may be unable to access the service temporarily until you disable your VPN, you could have your account suspended or even be banned from using the service altogether.
What do streaming services actually do about VPN usage?
Instead of prosecuting individuals for using a VPN to watch sports, streaming services tend to take a more technical approach to solving the problem. These are the most common issues you’ll see when a streaming provider detects you’re using a VPN:
- Present an error message: This depends on the provider, but you could see anything from a specific message telling you the streaming service suspects you’re using a VPN to a generic connection error.
- Slow down your stream: Instead of cutting you off altogether, the service might throttle your connection until the experience is unwatchable. Generally, this is more likely to be an issue with the server you’re connected to, but if you’re trying a bunch of different servers and getting the same results, stream throttling could be the culprit.
- Suspend your account: Some streaming services reserve the right to terminate accounts that repeatedly violate the terms of service. Account bans or suspensions may not be common, but they can still occur.
Why do providers do sports blackouts in the first place?
Many of the modern licensing laws streaming sites adhere to are holdovers from the days of television, when it made more sense for separate distributors to hold licensing agreements in different regions. While streaming services have made TV and movies far more accessible across the planet, the third-party distributors providing most of the content to these sites still agree on licenses by country or region.
That’s why one streaming service might be able to show a movie in the UK that would be available on a different streaming service in the US. It’s all down to who holds the licensing rights in that area. Sports broadcasting is a special case, as the broadcasting rights to an event are usually incredibly valuable. When a network pays millions for exclusive rights to broadcast games in a specific region, it doesn’t expect to have to compete with another option in that area.
That’s why rights holders are so keen on georestrictions, but why sports blackouts? The answer is to protect local broadcasts and encourage in-person attendance at sporting events. In theory, the more people near a stadium who can watch the game on their TV or computer, the fewer tickets an event will sell. Similarly, nationwide -- or worldwide -- broadcasts can siphon views away from local broadcasts, so blackouts may help combat competition with out-of-market networks. It’s debatable whether this makes sense in the streaming era, but that’s the gist of it.
Why using a good VPN matters
Streaming services and VPN providers are locked in a constant battle to block VPN IPs and find new ones, respectively. Platforms develop new ways to detect VPNs, and VPN companies develop workarounds or buy new batches of IP addresses.
When streaming sites weren’t a billion-dollar industry, you could pick pretty much any VPN you liked and stream content. Now, you need to choose your VPN carefully. Streaming services now detect VPNs using a combination of IP scanning, traffic analysis and DNS leaks.
Top-tier VPN providers stay ahead of these checks by regularly refreshing the IP pools used to assign your IP.
ExpressVPN is the best VPN for streaming overall, with a sizable server network, servers in all 50 US states for excellent regional sports streaming support and one of the most user-friendly VPN apps we’ve used.
NordVPN is the fastest VPN for streaming, boasting best-in-class internet speeds for streaming buttery-smooth 4K videos.
Surfshark is the best value VPN for streaming, undercutting most of the competition without sacrificing privacy or internet speeds.
You may be able to stream sports with a VPN, but just make sure you’re not breaking any subscriber agreements
While streaming sports using a VPN can be convenient by letting you keep up with your favorite clubs while traveling internationally and watching out-of-market games at home, you could be breaking a platform’s terms of service. Luckily, breaking ToS agreements isn’t illegal, but you risk an account suspension or ban in the worst-case scenario. Accordingly, check the subscriber agreement of the streaming service you’re using before firing up your VPN.
For more, check out the best VPNs for Amazon Prime Video and the best VPNs for Netflix.