Over the past few years, the nation of Israel has seen a heated debate regarding the legality of online gambling. The actual law regarding online gaming is still pretty unclear. While there remains to be no official ban on online gaming in Israel, there have been several proposals made by legislators in the country.

Furthermore, several court rulings have found that Internet gaming sites located within the country have broken regulations of online gaming, thus making it appear as though online gaming is outlawed within the country.

Israel Legal Online Poker

While the true legality of online poker in Israel remains pretty unclear, thousands of Israeli citizens continue to enjoy the game on a regular basis. Thousands of Israelis continue to play poker online, mainly at sites located outside of the Israel jurisdiction where there is no risk of potential criminal charges for online gamblers. Thus, while the current legislation is still foggy regarding online gambling in Israel, online poker players there are still able to access most international online poker sites and deposit funds to their accounts without much trouble.

A recent bill proposed by Amnon Cohen of the Orthodox Shas party could make online gambling officially illegal in Israel.  If passed, the bill will require all Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) in Israel to block all online casinos and online poker sites. This would mean that Israeli citizens wouldn't even be able to access online poker sites, making online poker playing seemingly impossible within the country. The proposal does leave room, however, for individuals to request specific permission to visit online gaming sites. As of now, it is unclear as to how difficult it will be to have this permission granted.

Currently, however, there has not been an official bill passed which outlaws online poker in the country of Israel. Nonetheless, many online poker sites and deposit funding services do not allow citizens of Israel to partake in online poker playing. Neteller, one of the worlds most popular third-party payment processors, recently made headlines by forbidding Israeli citizens from using the online payment service for online poker deposits. Neteller is a favorite among worldwide online poker players, allowing users to make instant, safe, and reliable transfers from their bank or credit card accounts to their online poker accounts. By removing access for Israeli citizens, Neteller is showing signs that it doesn't believe online poker playing will last in Israel.

Israel Online Poker Sites

Most international online poker sites still allow Israel citizens to register and play poker on their sites. However, Israelis may have difficulties when attempting to deposit funds into their poker accounts. Many Israeli banks will not authorize payments for online gambling due to the pending bans on online casino gaming. Neteller is only one of several third-party payment services that no longer accept Israeli users for online gambling deposits. This trend is likely to continue as the debate over online gambling in Israel continues and a national ban is set into place.

Israel Poker Deposit Options

Citizens of Israel who wish to deposit and play online poker for real money can easily find sites that will permit them to play.  The best place to look is the larger international online poker sites such as Bodog.com and FullTiltPoker.com, which tend to permit users from a wide variety of countries with unclear laws, including Israel.  Once you find a site that allows Israeli players, the next step will be to find a suitable deposit method.  Credit cards are usually the best bet in countries that don’t allow online gambling, especially if the card company is located and based in another jurisdiction.  That way, the Israeli government will not have the authority to block the payment or pursue criminal charges.