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Yoav Dudkevitch/TPS-IL on 12 February, 2026
Israelis Accused of Using Top-Secret Military Intel to Place Online Bets
Jerusalem, 12 February, 2026 (TPS-IL) -- Editor’s Note: This story was updated to include a response from the Israeli military
Two Israelis were arrested on suspicion of gambling on the popular Polymarket website using classified military information, authorities announced on Thursday.
The suspects—one a reservist, the other a civilian—are accused of placing bets on the occurrence of military operations based on sensitive information they had access to through their military positions.
Polymarket is a U.S.-based online prediction market where users trade on the outcomes of real-world events using cryptocurrency.
The arrests were the culmination of an investigation involving the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), the Israel Police, the Defense Ministry, and the State Attorney’s Office.
Most details remain under a gag order, but the Attorney General’s Office has decided to charge the civilian and the reservist with serious security offenses, including bribery and obstruction of justice.
“The defense establishment emphasizes that, in carrying out such bets relying on secret and classified information, there is a real security risk to IDF activities and state security,” the Shin Bet said.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that it “views with great seriousness any act that endangers the security of the state, and in particular the use of highly classified information for personal gain, as indicated by the information that has come to the IDF’s attention. This is a serious ethical lapse and a clear red line crossing, which are not in line with the values of the IDF and what is expected of its service members.”
The IDF added that the investigation found that “no operational harm” was caused by the betting.
