Although online casinos and sports betting sites may be run out of Israel, it is illegal for those resident in Israel to gamble at these Internet sites. Recently, a police raid took place in 37 locations, helping to bring down a criminal online gambling ring.

A police representative said that the online gambling ring that was targeted primarily concentrated on sports betting, and had had more than 70 million visits online in the past couple of years. The sports betting ring’s website was in operation for two years, in which time it brought in nearly $100 million.

Israeli courts released twenty different seizure orders, which gave the authorities the right to seize both vehicles and personal assets of a number of individuals who were considered to be suspects in the case against the sports betting ring. Along with the seizure orders, 160 bank accounts were frozen, pending further investigation.

The inquiries into the case, and the raids that took place after this, were carried out by investigators from both the Money Laundering Prohibition Authority, the Israeli Tax Authority, as well as by state prosecutors. These groups and other agencies are working together under the umbrella of the Joint Intelligence Center.

Police spokesmen have explained that the raids that took place were only the first of a number of blows that have been planned in order to remove the illegal gambling rings from the country. The investigators plan to find, and then close down all sports gambling sites, and other online gambling sites that are illegally offering their services to Israeli residents.