Two Israelis have been charged with allegedly using classified military information to place bets on Polymarket, authorities said.
The Defence Ministry, Shin Bet security service and the police issued a joint statement on Thursday, saying a civilian and a military reservist were suspected of placing bets on the US-based prediction market on future military operations based on information that the reservist had access to.
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The statement said that the State Prosecutor’s Office decided to indict them for serious security offences, as well as on charges of bribery and obstruction of justice.
The military said an investigation found that “no operational damage was caused in the current incident”.
But it said the incident was a “severe ethical failure and a clear crossing of a red line.”
Polymarket is a US-based website where users place bets predicting the outcomes of a range of events including elections, sports or news events.
Israeli authorities offered no details on the identity of the two individuals or the reservist’s rank or position in the military but warned that such actions posed a “real security risk” for the military and the Israeli state.
Israel’s public broadcaster Kan had reported earlier that the bets were placed in June in advance of Israel’s war with Iran and that the winnings were roughly $150,000.
Israel’s military and security services “view the acts attributed to the defendants very seriously and will act resolutely to thwart and bring to justice any person involved in the activity of using classified information illegally,” the statement said.
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