Israel court orders first blocks of int’l online gambling domains

Israel’s anti-online gambling campaign has ratcheted up a notch after a local court ordered internet service providers (ISPs) to block three unauthorized gambling domains.

On Monday, Tel Aviv District Court Judge Zion Kapah issued an injunction ordering local ISPs to block the domains of online gambling sites p2vbet.com, 1xbet.com and totobet777.com. The injunction was issued following a request by the state prosecutor’s office and the Israeli Police’s Unit for Combating Economic Crime in Lahav 433.

Last year, Israel’s government approved the Powers to Prevent Offenses Through an Internet Site Law 5767-2017, which authorized local authorities to require ISPs to restrict access to sites involved in ‘serious crimes,’ including publishing child pornography or terrorism-related content, promoting prostitution or selling illegal drugs.

It’s unclear why these three gambling sites were selected as the first to be targeted under the new law, as the Curacao-licensed p2vbet site doesn’t even appear to offer a Hebrew-language option. Nevertheless, Haim Wismonsky, director of the economic crime unit, said other gambling sites would be targeted in similar fashion in due course.