Police in Israel arrested five suspects this week that they believe are responsible for illegal online gambling website Internet1x2.com, allegedly operated out of a luxury villa in Belize.
Authorities stated that the site targeted mainly Israelis with a server based in the Baltic nation of Estonia and raked in over half a million dollars in illicit revenues.
Two of those arrested, brothers Idan and Shai Raviv, were described as the ‘masterminds' of the operation, which employed dozens of Israelis including female card dealers who used webcams to interact with gamblers in Israel. While Idan Raviv is suspected of running the property in Belize from his home in England, Shai Raviv allegedly carried out collection duties for the company in Tel Aviv.
Internet1x2.com also offered gambling on a wide range of sports and collected wagers using credit cards with the funds flowing directly into bank accounts held by the two brothers.
Police stated that the suspects could be charged with money laundering as well as a series of tax authority violations in addition to the gambling charges. They said that the brothers had established their operation in Belize in order to skirt Israeli law enforcement and believed that they would not be prosecuted because they were operating abroad.
However, because the site catered for Israelis and allowed users to gamble from Israel, prosecutors announced that the brothers along with the rest of those arrested could be tried under Israeli law.