Israel has stringent laws regarding betting. Sports betting is permissible and supervised by the Commission for Sports Gambling. The national lotteries are also lawful and are supervised by the Israeli administration. Sadly, land-based casino games and online gaming are prohibited. The only way to play traditional casino games such as blackjack, slots, roulette, baccarat, and craps in Israel is to visit the cruise ship casinos that dock at Israel’s port cities. For the Israelites who are fond of online casino games, they have worked out a way to access foreign online casinos, while others are playing gambling games operate behind closed doors. This has led to a thriving underground gambling sector.

Although online gaming is illegal, Israel has had a stable relationship with leading web-based casinos. For example, 888.com is a successful Israel based gaming company functioning across the globe. Pokerstars is a frontrunner in the eGaming, which is founded by Canadian businesspersons with Israeli origins. We also have many Israeli industrialists who have aided the industry to grow. Among those entrepreneurs is Playtech owner, Teddi Sagi, an Israeli entrepreneur with a net worth of in excess of $3.5 billion. Playtech has grown to a huge player in the industry and their games can be find on most online casino around the globe.

This becomes even more ironic, as some of the top companies in the online gambling industry have their headquarters in Israel. Good examples are NeoGames and William Hill. William Hill is a U.K. gaming firm that operated in Tel Aviv for several years until it shut down and relocated to the U.K. in 2017 due to high operating expenses. Today, 888.com still have their marketing and distribution departments working in Tel Aviv. There are also software companies that serve the casino market. Several affiliate firms have also set up offices in Israel. They help casinos acquire new players via different campaigns and promotions.

This entire gaming industry in Israel is quite confusing. On the one hand, the government prohibits online gambling, while on the other, it allows companies to offer various services to the casino industry to operate. Maybe the government has realized the great boost these companies contribute to the economy. Also, these companies provide job opportunities for their citizens. By doing this, the administration protects Israeli players from risks related to online gaming while it benefits from the industry.