The Don-Bet site was reportedly the subject of a year-long undercover investigation involving police, tax authorities and money laundering investigators. Police tapped the suspects’ phones and tracked how the organization moved funds around. Globes reported that the Don-Bet site purported to be a regular online gambling site, prominently displaying icons and links to credit card payment options, but instead acted as something of a credit betting operation, using agents in the field to recruit customers and handle the financial end. Haaretz claimed the site had 200 such agents across Israel servicing over 3,000 permanent clients.
Authorities estimated the site, which was in operation for five years, processed over a billion dollars in wagers over the past 30 months. YnetNews reported that the police had seized a significant amount of money via the raids and Globes quoted a police spokesman as saying “the state could make tens of millions of shekels from the seizures.” The suspects are facing charges of money laundering, gambling, criminal conspiracy and violations of the Combating Criminal Organizations Law. Online gambling in Israel is restricted to the Israel Sports Betting Board and the Mifal Hapayis state lottery.