Pay back £1m or face more jail time, suppliers of illegal Premier League broadcasts told

Two people already in jail for supplying illegal Premier League broadcasts have been ordered to pay £1 million - or spend another seven years inside.

Simon Hopkins and Leon Passlow ran a company called Digicams, which supplied a variety of systems to commercial premises, allowing customers to view live Premier League football without making appropriate payments.

Hopkins and Passlow were sentenced to three and a half years in prison last August, after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Defraud between January 2008 and September 2012.

However, they've now been ordered to pay back £992,947.60 within three months or face up to seven more years behind bars.

"Confiscation orders are often the final piece of the jigsaw following a conviction and, where applicable, provide for victims to be compensated for their losses," says Detective Sergeant Chris Rambour of the Surrey Police Economic Crime Unit.

"Seeking a confiscation order following a conviction is a lengthy, complex process which can take many months but these figures show that the hard work, tenacity and determination of the team has most definitely paid off."

Hopkins and Passlow made hundreds of thousands of pounds from the scam, which involved obtaining Sky and other viewing cards using false names and addresses and then selling them on to commercial businesses including hotels, pubs and betting shops.

They drove expensive cars and bought thousands of pounds' worth of jewellery.

"Injunctions and significant costs awards are regularly being made in the Premier League's favour in the Courts, and several suppliers have been jailed for illegally making systems available to commercial premises," says a Premier League spokesman.

"We would advise the owners and operators of hotels, pubs, betting shops and other premises interested in broadcast Premier League football to contact Sky Sports and BT Sport as they are the only broadcasters authorised to do so in this country."

After serving his sentence Passlow, an Australian citizen, will be deported back home.

Earlier this year, Sky hiked its prices by 10%, bringing the cost of a commercial subscription up to an average of £1,500 a month.

"The crippling price of the subscription service to the main sports channels are already exorbitant," says Colin Neill, chief executive of Hospitality Ulster.

"This hike may mean that many will simply have to forego the showing of the big games which ultimately has a real impact on custom, profit and the viability of many of our licensed premises."

Last month, a Leeds landlord was fined £10,000 for broadcasting Sky Sports coverage without the right licence.