An Israeli journalist said Polymarket users tried to bribe him and threatened to kill him after he reported that an Iranian missile had struck Israel earlier this month.
Polymarket later condemned the harassment and said the conduct violated its rules.
"We've banned the accounts for all involved & will pass their info to the relevant authorities," the company wrote on X.
Emanuel Fabian, a military correspondent for The Times of Israel, wrote this week that the harassment began with emails pressing him to revise a blog post saying a missile hit an area roughly 500 meters from homes in Beit Shemesh, a small city in central Israel.
The initial outreach, written in Hebrew, was polite, Fabian wrote. "Regarding your Times of Israel report that described today's launch as an 'impact' — Beit Shemesh Municipality and MDA (Magen David Adom) later corrected their reports to clarify that what fell was an interceptor fragment, not a full missile," the first email said, referring to an Israeli emergency-response service.
Follow-up messages from others were more insistent. "I have an urgent request regarding the accuracy of your report on the missile attack on March 10. I would really appreciate a response if possible," read one.
Fabian wrote that he stood by the reporting, citing Israeli military information and video of a large explosion that, in his view, was inconsistent with interceptor debris.
What followed, he said, was a pressure campaign that spilled across email, X, Discord, WhatsApp, and backchannel outreach through another journalist.
Fabian described repeated requests to change the wording of his report, which he believed was intended to influence the resolution of a Polymarket market tied to whether Iran struck Israel on that date. He said some messages — which didn't explicitly mention Polymarket, but came from Polymarket users or seemed bizarrely hung up on his blog post — escalated into explicit threats.
uters; Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Mar 17, 2026, 8:10 PM EET
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The prediction market Polymarket has few guardrails on what people can bet on.
An Israeli journalist said Polymarket users tried to bribe and threaten him into changing a story.
The $9 billion company condemned the threats and said it removed accounts linked to them.
An Israeli journalist said Polymarket users tried to bribe him and threatened to kill him after he reported that an Iranian missile had struck Israel earlier this month.
Polymarket later condemned the harassment and said the conduct violated its rules.
"We've banned the accounts for all involved & will pass their info to the relevant authorities," the company wrote on X.
Emanuel Fabian, a military correspondent for The Times of Israel, wrote this week that the harassment began with emails pressing him to revise a blog post saying a missile hit an area roughly 500 meters from homes in Beit Shemesh, a small city in central Israel.
The initial outreach, written in Hebrew, was polite, Fabian wrote. "Regarding your Times of Israel report that described today's launch as an 'impact' — Beit Shemesh Municipality and MDA (Magen David Adom) later corrected their reports to clarify that what fell was an interceptor fragment, not a full missile," the first email said, referring to an Israeli emergency-response service.
Jack Newsham's face on a gray background.
Follow Jack Newsham
Every time Jack publishes a story, you'll get an alert straight to your inbox!
Follow-up messages from others were more insistent. "I have an urgent request regarding the accuracy of your report on the missile attack on March 10. I would really appreciate a response if possible," read one.
Fabian wrote that he stood by the reporting, citing Israeli military information and video of a large explosion that, in his view, was inconsistent with interceptor debris.
What followed, he said, was a pressure campaign that spilled across email, X, Discord, WhatsApp, and backchannel outreach through another journalist.
Fabian described repeated requests to change the wording of his report, which he believed was intended to influence the resolution of a Polymarket market tied to whether Iran struck Israel on that date. He said some messages — which didn't explicitly mention Polymarket, but came from Polymarket users or seemed bizarrely hung up on his blog post — escalated into explicit threats.
"If you do not correct this by 01:00 Israel time today, March 15, you are bringing upon yourself damage you have never imagined you would suffer," read one.
Fabian wrote that he went to the police and provided evidence.
Polymarklet didn't answer questions from the Times of Israel about the details of the investigation. Representatives for Polymarket didn't immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
Advocates for prediction markets have said they encourage honesty by requiring users to put their money where their mouth is. Shayne Coplan, Polymarket's founder, has said that people in the Middle East can use military-strike markets to decide whether they want to sleep near a bomb shelter.
The nitty-gritty details of contracts and how they are resolved can lead to contentious arguments. People on Polymarket who wagered on whether Iran would strike Israel by March 10 still haven't gotten paid, as the contract appears to remain in dispute. Polymarket, which is legally based in Panama, uses a complex, crypto-based process to resolve disagreements.
Fabian isn't the first person to say they were targeted by prediction market users. The NCAA has cited concerns with prediction markets, reporting that 36% of Division I men's basketball players said they had been harassed by "someone with a betting interest."
In January, the organization called for a pause on college sports-related betting prediction market betting until the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates the platforms, "implements appropriate regulations."
Polymarket was valued at $9 billion last year and is seeking a $20 billion valuation in talks with investors, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month. The company and its competitor, Kalshi, have poured millions of dollars into marketing online, on TV, and in real life, even giving people free groceries in New York City.
The largest chunk of activity on both platforms is betting on sports in a manner that competes with companies like DraftKings, BetMGM, and other traditional sportsbooks. The second-biggest category is speculating on cryptocurrency prices.
Business Insider has previously reported that Polymarket has drawn scrutiny from US lawmakers over concerns about manipulation, insider trading, and the difficulty of investigating crypto-based bets.
ers; Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Mar 17, 2026, 8:10 PM EET
Save Saved
The prediction market Polymarket has few guardrails on what people can bet on.
An Israeli journalist said Polymarket users tried to bribe and threaten him into changing a story.
The $9 billion company condemned the threats and said it removed accounts linked to them.
An Israeli journalist said Polymarket users tried to bribe him and threatened to kill him after he reported that an Iranian missile had struck Israel earlier this month.
Polymarket later condemned the harassment and said the conduct violated its rules.
"We've banned the accounts for all involved & will pass their info to the relevant authorities," the company wrote on X.
Emanuel Fabian, a military correspondent for The Times of Israel, wrote this week that the harassment began with emails pressing him to revise a blog post saying a missile hit an area roughly 500 meters from homes in Beit Shemesh, a small city in central Israel.
The initial outreach, written in Hebrew, was polite, Fabian wrote. "Regarding your Times of Israel report that described today's launch as an 'impact' — Beit Shemesh Municipality and MDA (Magen David Adom) later corrected their reports to clarify that what fell was an interceptor fragment, not a full missile," the first email said, referring to an Israeli emergency-response service.
Jack Newsham's face on a gray background.
Follow Jack Newsham
Every time Jack publishes a story, you'll get an alert straight to your inbox!
Follow-up messages from others were more insistent. "I have an urgent request regarding the accuracy of your report on the missile attack on March 10. I would really appreciate a response if possible," read one.
Fabian wrote that he stood by the reporting, citing Israeli military information and video of a large explosion that, in his view, was inconsistent with interceptor debris.
What followed, he said, was a pressure campaign that spilled across email, X, Discord, WhatsApp, and backchannel outreach through another journalist.
Fabian described repeated requests to change the wording of his report, which he believed was intended to influence the resolution of a Polymarket market tied to whether Iran struck Israel on that date. He said some messages — which didn't explicitly mention Polymarket, but came from Polymarket users or seemed bizarrely hung up on his blog post — escalated into explicit threats.
"If you do not correct this by 01:00 Israel time today, March 15, you are bringing upon yourself damage you have never imagined you would suffer," read one.
Fabian wrote that he went to the police and provided evidence.
Polymarklet didn't answer questions from the Times of Israel about the details of the investigation. Representatives for Polymarket didn't immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
Advocates for prediction markets have said they encourage honesty by requiring users to put their money where their mouth is. Shayne Coplan, Polymarket's founder, has said that people in the Middle East can use military-strike markets to decide whether they want to sleep near a bomb shelter.
The nitty-gritty details of contracts and how they are resolved can lead to contentious arguments. People on Polymarket who wagered on whether Iran would strike Israel by March 10 still haven't gotten paid, as the contract appears to remain in dispute. Polymarket, which is legally based in Panama, uses a complex, crypto-based process to resolve disagreements.
Fabian isn't the first person to say they were targeted by prediction market users. The NCAA has cited concerns with prediction markets, reporting that 36% of Division I men's basketball players said they had been harassed by "someone with a betting interest."
In January, the organization called for a pause on college sports-related betting prediction market betting until the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates the platforms, "implements appropriate regulations."
Polymarket was valued at $9 billion last year and is seeking a $20 billion valuation in talks with investors, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month. The company and its competitor, Kalshi, have poured millions of dollars into marketing online, on TV, and in real life, even giving people free groceries in New York City.
The largest chunk of activity on both platforms is betting on sports in a manner that competes with companies like DraftKings, BetMGM, and other traditional sportsbooks. The second-biggest category is speculating on cryptocurrency prices.
Business Insider has previously reported that Polymarket has drawn scrutiny from US lawmakers over concerns about manipulation, insider trading, and the difficulty of investigating crypto-based bets.
Sen. Chris Murphy and Rep. Greg Casar announced Tuesday that they will introduce the "Bets Off Act," which would ban certain prediction market trades, including terrorism, war, and assassinations.
The attacks on Iran are only one of several geopolitical flashpoints that have been accompanied by concern about the prospect of people with insider information cashing in. One Polymarket user made several hundred thousand dollars correctly betting on the US operation to remove Venezuela's leader, Nicolas Maduro.
Showing posts with label Israel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Israel. Show all posts
March 18, 2026
January 02, 2019
Playtech reaches £25 million deal with Israeli tax authorities
Playtech has agreed to pay Israeli authorities approximately £25 million following a civil tax audit assessing its activity in the country between 2008 and 2017.
The gambling software company confirmed this morning that it had reached a settlement on 31 December 2018, after acknowledging that the Israeli tax authorities had made “transfer pricing adjustments in relation to certain functions”.
The payment, expected to be made in the next 30 days, will be reflected as an exceptional item in the firm’s 2018 accounts. No further penalties are to be imposed as a result of the audit.
The news closes a turbulent year for Playtech, who now expect to take an earnings hit of up to €25 million (£22.5 million) in 2019 due to changes in Italy’s gambling taxes.
Online casino revenues will be taxed at 25% (up from 20%), while online sports betting will be subjected to a 2% increase from 22 to 24%. This is on top of the advertising ban, announced as part of the Lega-5 Star government’s ‘Dignity Decree’.
Playtech had moved to offset falling revenues in Asia by completing the acquisition of Italian betting group Snaitech for approximately €850 million in June of last year.
The gambling software company confirmed this morning that it had reached a settlement on 31 December 2018, after acknowledging that the Israeli tax authorities had made “transfer pricing adjustments in relation to certain functions”.
The payment, expected to be made in the next 30 days, will be reflected as an exceptional item in the firm’s 2018 accounts. No further penalties are to be imposed as a result of the audit.
The news closes a turbulent year for Playtech, who now expect to take an earnings hit of up to €25 million (£22.5 million) in 2019 due to changes in Italy’s gambling taxes.
Online casino revenues will be taxed at 25% (up from 20%), while online sports betting will be subjected to a 2% increase from 22 to 24%. This is on top of the advertising ban, announced as part of the Lega-5 Star government’s ‘Dignity Decree’.
Playtech had moved to offset falling revenues in Asia by completing the acquisition of Italian betting group Snaitech for approximately €850 million in June of last year.
June 27, 2017
William Hill shutting its online operations in Israel, laying off more than 200
Оnline gaming giant William Hill plc will be shutting its operation in Israel. More than 200 of the company’s approximately 250 Tel Aviv based employees will be laid off, and the company’s offices at the Azrieli Towers will be vacated.
A small number of William Hill Israel key employees will be offered relocation to head office in the UK or elsewhere in Europe.
Sources at the company were quoted as saying that representatives of William Hill had begun meeting individually with Tel Aviv based employees, explaining the company’s decision to consolidate the online portion of its business, which is what the Israel operation dealt mostly with.
Israel is a major center in the online gaming world as well as in areas such as online marketing and software development which are essential to the industry. However the strong Shekel, combined with rising real estate prices and low unemployment levels, has made Israel a much more expensive place in which to do business. Israeli technology companies have also been actively outsourcing to lower cost locations such as India and Eastern Europe.
William Hill began operating in Israel in 2008, when it created William Hill Online as a joint venture with Teddy Sagi’s Playtech PLC. Playtech transferred assets and technology into William Hill Online, including a large number of Israel-based employees, in return for a 30% interest in the venture. William Hill bought out Playtech’s holding in the JV in 2013 for £424 million.
A small number of William Hill Israel key employees will be offered relocation to head office in the UK or elsewhere in Europe.
Sources at the company were quoted as saying that representatives of William Hill had begun meeting individually with Tel Aviv based employees, explaining the company’s decision to consolidate the online portion of its business, which is what the Israel operation dealt mostly with.
Israel is a major center in the online gaming world as well as in areas such as online marketing and software development which are essential to the industry. However the strong Shekel, combined with rising real estate prices and low unemployment levels, has made Israel a much more expensive place in which to do business. Israeli technology companies have also been actively outsourcing to lower cost locations such as India and Eastern Europe.
William Hill began operating in Israel in 2008, when it created William Hill Online as a joint venture with Teddy Sagi’s Playtech PLC. Playtech transferred assets and technology into William Hill Online, including a large number of Israel-based employees, in return for a 30% interest in the venture. William Hill bought out Playtech’s holding in the JV in 2013 for £424 million.
September 25, 2015
Israel to open a casino in Eilat
Eilat in Israel could be the first to have a land based casino as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has started discussions on opening a casino in the southern resort city.
Netanyahu during his campaign election promised that he would look at the possibility of legalizing casinos to check the effects it would possibly have on the socioeconomic impact to the country and at the same time helping to boost the economy along with creating jobs.
The city of Eilat has for many years been the location where Israeli’s go to gamble on ships as they go out to neutral waters and offer gambling on board, so for a casino to be located there would make sense. Also with the continued accusations that these ships offer money laundering and rigged games would remove that problem with a legalised casino resort.
A casino did open in Jericho back in 1998 for some six years before closing in 2004, the casino was allowed as it stood on Palestinian Authority-controlled territory, however with the onslaught of the Second Intifada it never really was the success it had been hoped for.
Building a casino on Israeli land would cause opposition from orthodox Jewish sections of the community, whether it will be a reality is some way off thou.
Netanyahu during his campaign election promised that he would look at the possibility of legalizing casinos to check the effects it would possibly have on the socioeconomic impact to the country and at the same time helping to boost the economy along with creating jobs.
The city of Eilat has for many years been the location where Israeli’s go to gamble on ships as they go out to neutral waters and offer gambling on board, so for a casino to be located there would make sense. Also with the continued accusations that these ships offer money laundering and rigged games would remove that problem with a legalised casino resort.
A casino did open in Jericho back in 1998 for some six years before closing in 2004, the casino was allowed as it stood on Palestinian Authority-controlled territory, however with the onslaught of the Second Intifada it never really was the success it had been hoped for.
Building a casino on Israeli land would cause opposition from orthodox Jewish sections of the community, whether it will be a reality is some way off thou.
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