Nov
25th

Israeli Government Takes Down Online Gambling Operations

Earlier this week, 300 police and tax authority officers raided 37 homes in Israel during the early hours of the morning where they suspected organized gambling activity taking place.

The raid came after Israeli Police and Tax Authorities had conducted an investigation lasting more than eighteen months. After seizing tens of millions of Shekels in cash and assets, dozens of people were arrested. Those arrested are also suspected of being involved in criminal activities which include money laundering, extortion and property theft.

The investigation was started after one individual was suspected of operating the online gambling site “betbet.us” and resulted in police monitoring the Web site after which and the raid was handled jointly by the police’s specialist Lahav 433 unit, State Prosecutors, the Money Laundering Prohibition Authority and the Tax Authority investigators.

Before conducting the raid the Tax Authorities were granted twenty court orders authorizing them to seize the vehicles and assets belonging to the suspects.

Police described the gambling/crime ring as a “pirate sports gambling industry that has taken in more than NIS 340 million since 2007”. This amount equates to approximately 90 million dollars. The police added that internet gambling is a very sever crime hazard among Israeli crime organizations as it attracts many other forms of serious crimes that include violence, money laundering, aggravated extortion, tax offenses as well as theft from public funds.

Although participation in online gambling is illegal in Israel, many people are prepared to take the chance to gamble online or profit from the market.

It is also illegal for any gambling site to accept Israeli players.

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