The Israeli Knesset has passed a law that allows its courts to block websites promoting illegal activities—a move that includes blocking illegal online gambling sites.
The law allows authorities to block or remove sites promoting criminal terror activities, including prostitution, drugs and gambling. It specifically targets illegal gambling, prostitution and child pornography advertisements, online dealing of drugs and synthetic cannabinoids and the websites of terror groups.
“We are closing an enforcement gap of many years during which the existing law was disconnected from the migration of crime to the internet,” said Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan.
In cases where the owner of a website is Israel-based, the court may order the provider to seek the website’s removal, rather than merely restricting access. The courts may also order search engines to remove the websites from their search results and may rely on classified government testimony to make their decision.
Efforts to protect “innocent’ websites were written into the law, according to a report at haarets.com. Sites can only be blocked by a specially trained district court judge, who must take a number of factors under consideration when making that decision. Representatives of the public will also be allowed to appear in court to defend the interests of the general population of internet users who might be affected by limitations on access, the report said.
In a similar story, a Dutch court has upheld the right of the Netherlands gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit to fine foreign online gambling providers offering their products and services to players in the country without a local license.
A District Court in The Hague ruled that the regulator has the legal authority to sanction international casino operators that violate local laws. The regulator levied six-figure fines on Co-Gaming Limited based in Malta, and ONISAC Limited and Mansion Online Casino Limited, both based in Gibraltar.
The companies are believed to have already paid the fines but still chose to also appeal their cases, local reports said.
According to a statement released by Kansspelautoriteit, the court accepted that offering gambling online is prohibited in the Netherlands and that the gaming authority is empowered to act against it. It said this prohibition and enforcement of the gaming authority in accordance with the court is in line with European Union law.
