ISRAEL Law and Practice Contributed by: Tal Segev, Segev Tal Sports Law
ent, hereinafter referred to as “TOTO”). This organisa - tion derives its authority from statute, specifically the Sports Betting Regulation Law, 5727–1967. Accord - ingly, betting conducted through TOTO is lawful. Nevertheless, it is well established that betting is pro - hibited for participants. Many football and basketball clubs explicitly stipulate in employment contracts that players are forbidden from engaging in betting activi - ties, including those conducted through TOTO. Furthermore, sports associations impose a blanket prohibition on betting by athletes, embedding these restrictions within their internal disciplinary regula - tions. A notable domestic case concerns betting in women’s football, arising largely because the wom - en’s game is said to satisfy a particular niche demand among gamblers whilst simultaneously operating within a comparatively limited public sphere. As a consequence, relatively few people are exposed to such unlawful activity. Investigations of this nature are conducted by the FA, and any athlete found guilty may face a lifetime ban from all official football activity. 1.4 Disciplinary Framework See 1.3 Betting-Related Offences . Sports clubs and organisations in Israel invest consid - erable effort in increasing revenue from merchandise. To this end, Israeli clubs are placing growing empha - sis on innovative sports technology solutions aimed at enhancing fan engagement and, consequently, improving their ability to monetise fan traffic and mer - chandise sales. However, Israel is not generally regarded as an attrac - tive market for foreign fans. As a result, clubs primarily focus on local fans, as well as Jewish fans around the world. 2. Commercial Rights 2.1 Sports-Related Rights Merchandising Most sports clubs in Israel are affiliated with a national sports centre. For instance, all “Maccabi” clubs fall under the authority of the Maccabi Israel sports cen -
tre, which, among other responsibilities, manages the rights associated with the various Maccabi logos. With regard to intellectual property, football clubs are required, in accordance with UEFA regulations, to demonstrate that they hold the rights to use their log - os, names, abbreviations, colours and related assets, thereby ensuring proper protection of club rights. Ticketing Clubs in Israel typically engage external service pro - viders to manage ticket sales, from which the clubs derive revenue. Some clubs, however, operate their own ticketing systems. In general, it is prohibited for fans to resell tickets to other supporters at prices exceeding the official face value, and such conduct is considered unlawful. Indi - viduals engaging in this practice may face sanctions for ticket touting. As noted above, many clubs now issue electronic tick - ets featuring dynamic barcodes that change each time the application is accessed. This makes it effectively impossible to resell the same ticket multiple times without detection. Additionally, some clubs use a single barcode valid for an entire season, which reduces the likelihood that season ticket holders will transfer their tickets to unauthorised individuals, particularly supporters of opposing teams. Hospitality Hospitality offerings, such as VIP seating and pri - vate boxes, are widespread in Israel. These premium options are typically costly and are often included as part of broader packages offered to sponsors or pri - vate companies, which may use them to host employ - ees or international guests. Such hospitality services represent an additional rev - enue stream for clubs, enabling them to monetise the matchday experience by offering enhanced seating, catering, beverages, dedicated service staff and other exclusive amenities.
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