|
Online casinos just received a crippling blow in the
Israeli courts. A ruling against Michael Carlton, CEO of Gibraltar-based
bookmaker Victor Chandler, effectively set a precedent in Israel. Online
gambling and online casinos are now banned in the country.
Judge Abraham Heiman, making the ruling against online
casinos, had to say, “A foreign company operating an online gambling site may
not hide behind the fact that the company and its servers sit in another
country, and it is breaking the law if it does not block access to Israelis.”
Israel has monopolized gambling within its boarders, whether it is land-based
or online casinos. Like many other European countries gambling is controlled by
a state-run gaming board.
For a while, Victor Chandler operated in a legal grey area, the Israeli
government ignoring the stronghold it held in Israel.
The Victor Chandler company may have made a mistake last year when it
initiated its aggressive marketing campaign in Israel, covering billboards,
buses, and the launch of a Hebrew website. Israel, according to Victor
Chandler, had become its second-biggest market amongst the over 160 countries in
which they operate.
Untimely for the company, Israeli officials had become irritated with the
fast approach of online casinos and the threat they posed their state-run
monopoly.
The ruling made by Judge Heiman has put to bed any hopes that online casinos
might be welcome to reach Israelis. The ban includes advertising as well as the
actual online casino.
Return to Casino News...
|
