ISRAEL Law and Practice Contributed by: Liran Barak, Herzog Fox & Neeman
in poker tournaments outside Israel – see Civil Appeal (Supreme Court) 476/17 Amit Amishvili Rafi v Assess - ing Officer Tel Aviv 4 . In an unprecedented decision, the majority of the court took the position that poker may not be a game of chance. However, as this view formed part of the obiter dictum, it is not legally bind- ing on other courts. Nevertheless, it may pave the way for other courts to review the legal classification of poker, and to potentially declare it as being outside the definition of a “prohibited game” under the Penal Law. Recent Changes In line with Israel’s conservative approach towards gambling as described earlier, recent changes relat- ing to gambling in Israel have only served to further restrict the proliferation and availability of gambling in the country. In recent years, the Israeli Ministry of Finance has tak- en action against both the National Lottery and the ISBB. First, it revoked the National Lottery’s permit to operate video lottery terminals in 2017 (which was judicially challenged by National Lottery concession- aires before the High Court of Justice, with the chal- lenge later being abandoned – see HCJ 239/17 Haim Tal et al v Minister of Finance ); then, in 2018, the Min- istry revoked the ISBB’s permission to conduct horse race wagering. ISP blocking of gambling websites operating from outside Israel was successfully implemented in late 2018 for the first time. This was the result of a new law being passed in 2017, enabling district court judges to issue warrants ordering ISPs to block access to illegal gambling websites at the request of the State Attorney’s office or the police. In addition, starting in 2019, the threshold of tax exemption on winnings generated from gambling was almost cut in half from ILS50,000 to only ILS30,500 (currently standing at ILS33,840, inflation-adjusted).
exceptions: the National Lottery, certain betting activi- ties organised by the ISBB, and a limited scope of “social gaming”. With the exception of purely social gaming and the ISBB’s online betting services current- ly on offer, online gambling is illegal under Israeli law. 2.2 Land-Based Gambling As with online gambling, only three exceptions apply to the blanket ban over all forms of lotteries, betting and games of chance: the National Lottery, certain betting activities organised by the ISBB, and a limited scope of “social gaming”. Consequently, land-based gambling activities (other than those offered by the National Lottery and the ISBB, as well as a narrow scope of purely social gaming) are illegal in Israel. The key legislation that applies to the gambling sec- tor in Israel is Chapter 12 of the Penal Law, which includes: • definitions of the types of activities that constitute gambling and betting; • the respective prohibitions associated with those activities; and • the few exemptions available. Section 231 (A) of Chapter 12 establishes the author- ity of the Ministry of Finance to issue a permit for the operation of the National Lottery. 3. Legislative Framework 3.1 Key Legislation The operations of the ISBB are regulated by the Law for the Regulation of Sports Betting 5727-1967. The various betting programmes operated by the ISBB are governed by specific regulations issued by the ISBB itself, in accordance with its statutory powers. 3.2 Definition of Gambling Definitions in the Israeli Penal Law The various definitions pertaining to gambling in Israel can be found in the Israeli Penal Law, which places a general ban on gambling activity, including all forms of lotteries, betting and games of chance. Additional restrictions under the Penal Law prohibit services ancillary to gambling, such as the operation of venues
2. Jurisdictional Overview 2.1 Online Gambling
Israeli law places a blanket ban over all forms of lot- teries, betting and games of chance, with only three
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