Is Online Gambling Legal in Israel?
No, outside the two state bodies. Chapter 12 of the Penal Law 5737-1977 prohibits organising or taking part in a prohibited game, lottery or bet, and the only exceptions are permits granted under that chapter. A prohibited game is one where the result depends more on chance than on skill and the player can win money or another benefit, which covers slots, roulette, blackjack and other casino games. Israeli courts have read these provisions as covering online gambling, and have held that foreign operators serving people in Israel breach the Penal Law.
Organising a prohibited game, lottery or bet, or keeping a place for one, carries up to three years in prison or a fine of up to ILS 452,000. Taking part carries up to one year or a fine of up to ILS 29,200.
Mifal HaPais and the Israel Sports Betting Board
Israel’s legal gambling sits with two state bodies. Mifal HaPais, the national lottery, has operated since 1951 under a permit from the Ministry of Finance and runs draws, a subscription lottery and scratch cards; the Ministry revoked its permit for video lottery terminals in 2017. The Israel Sports Betting Board was created in 1967 under the Law for the Regularisation of Sports Betting and holds the exclusive right to sports betting, sold under the Winner brand in shops and online. It stopped taking bets on horse racing in 2018, and it accepts conventional currency only, not cryptocurrency.
How Israel Blocks Gambling Sites and Payments
Blocking took more than one attempt. In 2013 the Supreme Court struck down police orders requiring Israeli internet providers to block gambling sites, because the police lacked legal authority to issue them. The Knesset then passed the Powers to Prevent the Commission of Offences by Means of an Internet Website Law in 2017, which lets a district court judge order providers to block an illegal gambling site at the request of the police or the State Attorney. Courts first used it in October 2018, and blocking orders have followed since.
Payments are the second line. Bank of Israel rules prohibit Israeli banks and financial institutions from processing gambling transactions, and later banking procedures tightened the restrictions on online gambling payments in particular. As a result, an Israeli card or bank transfer can be refused on the bank’s side even when an international casino accepts it. Every casino’s accepted methods appear on its card and in our guide to casino payment methods.
How International Online Casinos Work for Israeli Players
Every casino on the list is licensed by a regulator outside Israel, and that licence sets what a player can count on: the identity checks, the withdrawal limits and the authority that hears a dispute. Neither Mifal HaPais nor the Sports Betting Board has any role in supervising these sites, so the overseas licence is the only oversight, and our guide to online casino licences compares the main regulators.
The restricted-country list deserves a careful read. Several international casinos bar Israel at registration altogether, while others accept Israeli players, and an account opened from a restricted country can have winnings voided at withdrawal. A district court blocking order can also make a site unreachable from Israel. The wider trade-offs are compared in licensed versus offshore casinos.
Casino Bonuses for Israeli Players
Welcome offers on the cards are priced in euros, so a bonus changes value in shekels with the exchange rate. The rollover decides how much play it demands: a ILS 400 bonus at 35x means ILS 14,000 of bets before it becomes withdrawable. Slots usually count in full, while table and live games count for less or nothing, and free spin winnings tend to have a separate rollover and a payout cap. Remember that cleared winnings above the exemption are taxable at 35% in Israel, which reduces what a bonus is ultimately able to pay out. Offers available to Israeli players are on our page of Israel casino bonuses.
Do You Pay Tax on Gambling Winnings in Israel?
Yes. Israel taxes income from gambling, lotteries and prizes at 35% under the Income Tax Ordinance. Each win is measured on its own against an exempt amount that is updated over time; wins up to that amount are tax-free, a partial exemption applies up to twice that amount, and above that the whole win is taxed. Israeli residents owe the tax on winnings earned abroad as well as in Israel. At Mifal HaPais and the Sports Betting Board the tax is withheld before the prize is paid; on a win from an international casino, nothing is withheld in Israel. How other countries handle this is compared in our guide to tax on casino winnings.
Casinos in Israel: The Eilat Question
Israel has no legal casino. Proposals to open one in the Red Sea resort of Eilat, aimed at tourists, have come up repeatedly over the years, including at prime ministerial level, but none has gained enough political support to change the law. The only legal gambling products in the country remain the national lottery and state sports betting.
Poker and Social Casino Games in Israel
Poker for money is a prohibited game in Israel. In a 2018 ruling, the Supreme Court remarked that poker tournaments may involve more skill than chance, but the remark was not binding and did not change the Penal Law. A private member’s bill to allow licensed real-money poker tournaments was introduced in 2022 and has not advanced. Free-to-play social casino games with no money prizes sit in a grey zone, with courts giving conflicting rulings on games that use only virtual tokens.
A Short History of Gambling Law in Israel
The national lottery came first, in 1951, followed by state sports betting in 1967 and the current Penal Law in 1977. Online gambling pushed the state to act through the courts and the banks: the 2013 Supreme Court ruling stopped police blocking, the 2017 law restored it with judicial oversight, and the first court-ordered blocks came in 2018. The same period saw the state trim its own products, ending lottery video terminals in 2017 and horse race betting in 2018.
Responsible Gambling and Help in Israel
Mifal HaPais and the Sports Betting Board both run responsible gambling programmes, and the national lottery’s permit requires it to fund research, education and addiction treatment. Anyone worried about their gambling, or about debts it has caused, can speak to a doctor or a mental health professional. At an international casino, the protection sits in the account settings: a deposit cap, a cooling-off period or full self-exclusion, ideally switched on before the first payment. Our page on national self-exclusion registers shows how countries with licensed online markets add a wider layer.
The Future of Online Gambling in Israel
Legal commentators expect Israeli gambling policy to tighten rather than loosen, with more site blocking and closer monitoring of payments, and no sign of private online licences. The national lottery and sports betting board remain the only legal operators. Nearby markets show other models: Cyprus licenses online sports betting, and the United Arab Emirates is opening its first casino resort; our pages on online casinos in Cyprus and online casinos in the United Arab Emirates cover both.
