ISRAEL Law and Practice Contributed by: Tal Segev, Segev Tal Sports Law
10.3 The Metaverse The metaverse remains largely experimental in Israel, with no dedicated legal framework governing it and little meaningful demand from clubs or associations. The closest applicable regulatory instruments are gen - eral laws covering consumer protection, privacy and securities. In practical terms, metaverse activity in Israel is mod - est. The Maccabiah Games’ NFT project touched the periphery of the metaverse through digital collectibles, and whilst Israeli technology companies are actively building metaverse infrastructure for global markets, local sports organisations have yet to launch any sub - stantive virtual fan experiences. The opportunities are nonetheless real, encompassing virtual stadiums, fan engagement unconstrained by geography, new sponsorship inventory and immersive athlete experiences – all of which are achievable given Israel’s robust technology ecosystem. The legal risks are equally significant. In relation to intellectual property and image rights, virtual environ - ments give rise to new unauthorised use scenarios for which no clear Israeli legal remedy yet exists. Given the existence of general laws protecting the use of minors’ images, this risk is particularly acute. On con - sumer protection, virtual goods and experiences sold to fans occupy a regulatory grey zone, though the cur - rent Consumer Protection Law, 1981-5741, appears to offer broad protection for consumers making virtual purchases. Data privacy presents a further concern, as immersive metaverse environments collect deep - ly personal behavioural data, raising serious issues under Israel’s evolving Privacy Protection Law.
Israeli start-up M51 also identified the opportunity at an early stage, proposing the concept of sports clubs selling digital versions of their merchandise – a Mac - cabi Tel Aviv shirt as an NFT rather than a physical product, for instance. The legal landscape remains uncertain. Tokens that confer voting rights on fans could fall within the scope of Israeli securities law, and FIFA maintains its own regulations regarding outside influence on clubs. The door is open, but no major Israeli club has yet stepped through it. 10.2 AI Israel has no dedicated sports-specific AI legislation. The principal applicable frameworks are the Privacy Protection Law, 1981-5741 – which is currently under - going significant reform encompassing data protec - tion, user consent for the collection and use of per - sonal information, pre-approval requirements for data scraping, and the right to correct personal data – and the Israeli Innovation Authority’s ethical guidelines on AI, neither of which were designed with sport specifi - cally in mind. Clubs are exploring AI applications across perfor - mance analytics, injury prediction, scouting and fan engagement, whilst sponsors are leveraging AI for targeted advertising and real-time audience insights, with most drawing on the expertise of local technol - ogy companies. The opportunities are considerable, spanning smarter scouting, personalised fan experi - ences and operational efficiency. At the same time, genuine risks exist around athlete data privacy, potential information leaks, the grey area of automated data collection, and the possibility of biased algorithms influencing player selection. Israel remains technologically progressive, but sport-specif - ic AI regulation is lagging behind – the rules are being written whilst the game is already well underway.
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