Official languages: Hebrew, Arabic
Population: 7,411,000
Currency: Israeli Shekel(ILS)

Current Exchange Rate
1 EUR = 5.5479 ILS
1 GBP = 6.1917 ILS
1 USD = 3.7473 ILS

Poker in Israel
Poker in Israel is quite popular – the Israeli Poker Association estimates that 500,000 Israelis play the game regularly. Unfortunately, legal poker games can be difficult to find. The reason for this is the lack of casinos – there are no land-based casinos in the entire country. There are, however, 10 casino cruise vessels that sail out of the country's major port cities. They sail into open waters for about 4 hours each night, during which time the casinos open and people can legally gamble. Many of Israel's casino ships offer poker games. These casino cruises are the only places to find legal poker in Israel. A few years ago poker tournaments were running in the country, but the police now shut down such events before they even begin. The Israeli courts believe poker is more based on luck than on skill, and it is therefore illegal outside of casino ships.

Online Poker in Israel
There is no online poker in Israel. The Israeli government allows the national lottery and the state-run sportsbook to operate on the internet, but no other companies are allowed to provide online gambling services to Israeli players. Moreover, the government tries to prevent local players from using foreign online poker sites by filtering the internet and blocking access to major online poker rooms. There are still many sites that get though, and Israeli players continue to use these foreign sites to enjoy online poker games and tournaments. Because these sites are run from other countries, far outside the reach of the Israeli government, players can use them knowing that the government cannot shut the sites down. These foreign poker sites are the best way for people to play online poker games in Israel.