Israelis Continue At the Forefront of Online Poker Cheating Scandals

Source: Channel 5 Belize

International scams have reached Belize in a variety of forms from money orders to phantom universities. In the most recent known case, Belize is being tarnished in a scam that is part fact and part fiction. A transnational internet gambling ring that stretched across the globe has included Belize as a part of its web of deceit for almost a decade. The mastermind of the operation are two Israeli brothers, Idan and Shai Raviv. The scam was allegedly housed in a luxury villa in Belize; and Idan is suspected of running it from his home in England. The truth of the matter was that the servers that netted millions of dollars in profit were located in another European country and the other brother, Shai carried out the collection duties in Tel Aviv, Israel. Following an undercover probe, the Israeli Anti-fraud Unit, and the anti gambling force arrested five men suspected of being involved in the gambling network. Idan and Shai were brought before a Rishon Lezion court on Tuesday afternoon where their remand was extended by three days. On Friday they will be released on house arrest.

Internet1x2.com’s the website claimed the operation was housed in Belize. A check of networksolutions.com states that the website was created on the eighteenth of June 2000 and its I.P. location, where its computers are stored, is in Estonia, a nation in Europe. If you click on the link for the gambling website, it will say “This Site Currently Unavailable.” But archives stored on the internet showed that users could place bets on various sports around the world including soccer, American football, baseball, boxing, tennis and hockey. Casino games such as poker were also offered with online dealers that could be seen through a live video link. Wagers were collected using credit cards with the funds flowing directly into bank accounts held by Idan and Shai Raviv. The ‘frequently asked questions’ page, highlights whether or not the operation is legal. The answer is “The Belize Gaming Commission has granted us a license to operate as an online bookmaker.” The terms of agreement also states that “Net Games Inc., an International Business Corporation incorporated under the laws of Belize, is fully licensed and regulated by the laws of that country. The warning page maintains that the sites are registered in Belize and are fully licensed to operate under the laws of Belize. But it seems that the connection with Belize and all associations were made up. According to Lincoln Blake of the Ministry of Economic Development, not only have they not issued a license to the gaming operation, they have never heard of the Raviv brothers.