Israel Cracking Down on Online Gambling

Reports have come from Israeli news publications indicating that a District Court in Tel Aviv has upheld the allegation that any online gambling companies targeting Israelis are breaking the law. This would include those registered and operated outside Israel.

This issues came before a lower court, earlier this year, when British businessman Michael Carlton, Chief Exec. Officer with Victor Chandler Casino Website, was questioned earlier this year. The line of questioning focused on suspicion of illegally running gambling operations in Israel, and sports betting involving events with Israeli teams. Victor Chandler is registered and licensed in Gibraltar.

Originally ordered to undergo house arrest despite no charges being filed, Carlton was later required to deposit over 70 thousand dollars in guarantees as a condition to leave the country. He later appealed the requirement. The lower court ruled that Victor Chandler site was in violation of Article 225 of the Criminal Code. This left the District Court to decide whether online gambling by Israelis from Israel through an international gambling site, based outside Israeli jurisdiction, was a crime. Evidently they believed so.

 

The superior court upheld the ruling, declaring that, "...any company operating a gambling website that targets Israelis is breaking the law, no matter if the site is run from abroad and if the company is registered outside Israel."

Victor Chandler is one of the most popular Internet gambling companies in Israel with payouts to Israelis of over $16 million in winnings annually.