Israeli Government Cracks Down on Online Gambling

Written by Haylie | Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

On Monday, Israeli Police and Tax Authorities took down an online gambling operation in a massive raid throughout the country. Early in the morning, more than 300 police and tax authority officers set out on a simultaneous raid of 37 homes that were suspected of organized gambling activity after an investigation that lasted more than a year and a half. Tens of millions of Shekels, the Israeli currency, was seized in cash and assets. The 36 people who were arrested are also believed to be involved in multiple criminal activities including property theft, money laundering, and extortion.

The investigation was initiated when one individual was suspected of operating the online gambling site betbet.us. An Israeli police source told the Jerusalem Post, “We employed techniques to monitor the Web site that are very similar to eavesdropping.”

Also, in a statement released Monday, the gambling/crime ring was described by police as a “pirate sports gambling industry that has taken in more than NIS 340 million since 2007,” which equates to about $90 million dollars.

“Internet gambling is one of the severe crime phenomena among Israeli crime organizations,” added the source. “It brings with it other forms of serious crimes, like aggravated extortion, violence, money laundering, tax offenses, and theft of moneys from public funds.”

In Israel, online gambling participation is illegal; however, many people in Israel, like those in other countries, are willing to take the chance to gamble online or profit from the massive market that the industry attracts. Furthermore, though, any online gambling site that accepts Israeli players is also at risk of being prosecuted by the Israeli government. What is otherwise accepted in many countries and somewhat of a controversial topic in others, is strictly considered taboo in Israel, and officials are now cracking down on online gambling activity.

Other Related Articles

• Lucky 18 Casino Okay

Got Something to Say? Leave a Comment

You must be You are now logged in and can post a comment.