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They are supposed to be the most democratic country in the Middle East, yet Israel’s stance on Internet gambling over the past two years has been akin to that of China, or worse, the United States.
And while the US has been seizing Internet domain names, Israel has taken things one step further by blocking its citizens from accessing online gambling domains.
That’s all about to change.
An Israeli court on Wednesday has ruled that police cannot instruct Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block such domains. Tel Aviv District Court judge Michal Rubinstein rendered his decision.
“Clearly, gambling not approved by the state is a negative social phenomenon, but that in itself is not a reason to restrict that information,” the judge ruled.
“By blocking the gambling sites, the freedom of Israelis to access information was damaged, since they could not access the site to get the information stored there.”
Israel Internet Association (ISOC) spokesperson, Rimon Levy, commented, “Our aim is to prevent restriction of access to information and undue damage to freedom of expression and speech.
“Our petition was not directed at encouraging online gambling, but to prevent the police from imposing limits on access to information.”
Ironically, another so-called “democracy”, Belgium, has move full steam ahead in blocking online gambling domains. Belgium is home to the European Union, which has staunchly criticized such moves.
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
