The Israeli Police's National Fraud Unit on Tuesday continued its investigation into illegal online gambling advertisements by raiding the offices of three Israeli Websites: MSN Israel, Start and Nana.
The actions come two weeks after raids on the offices of portal site Walla! and sports content site Sport Line.
As they did in the first series of raids, police on Tuesday seized documents and questioned senior managers of the companies targeted. Investigators say that the three Web sites have continued to display advertisements for illegal online gambling despite the police action taken against Walla! and Sport Line.
MSN Israel (www.msn.co.il) and Start (start.msn.co.il) are both Hebrew language sites that are part of Microsoft's MSN Network. Both are co-owned by Microsoft and Internet Gold Ltd, an Israeli communications group controlled by investment company Eurocom Communications and operating in the fields of Internet access, online content, online advertising, e-commerce, Web searching and VolP-based telephony.
MSN sites have varied policies regarding gambling-related content depending on the jurisdictions in which they are operated and aimed. MSN.co.uk, for example, carries ads for online gambling sites and even hosts an online gambling portal. The U.S. site, on the other hand, does not permit such content. MSN Israel, meanwhile, has not yet commented on whether it will change its policy.
The third site, Nana (www.nana.co.il), is a Hebrew language site owned by NetVision Ltd., a supplier of Internet solutions for both businesses and consumers.
The computer crime department of the National Fraud Unit has been acting under orders from Attorney General Menahem Mazuz and State Prosecutor Eran Shendar, who have instructed police to crack down on Internet sites that place advertisements for online gambling sites.