Insights & News /  Internet

Our firm was chosen as one of the three best Israeli law offices providing services in the gaming and gambling industry by the InterGame 2016 directory. The InterGame is the ultimate portal for the coin-op amusement, casino and online gaming industries.

Increasing competition in the online gambling industry is motivating leading players in the industry to try to find new sources of income.

Following the declaration by Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, regarding the possibility of opening for the first time of a casino in Israel, the exclusive Gambling Compliance Magazine interviewed us. Our Head of Internet Department states that: "There is a higher probability for this to succeed this time. The reason for that being that due to the economic situation in Israel (and generally in the world), the government is seeking additional sources of income, which a casino could bring."

In 2014, the online gambling industry faced many challenges, mainly due to regulatory issues but also due unsatisfactory results in several jurisdictions with the US States of Nevada and New Jersey probably the most disappointing in this respect. According to our head of gambling practice, 2015 will probably be challenging as well. One reason for this is that the new legislation in England, which came into effect towards the end of 2014, requiring any online gambling operator offering is services in England to operate under an online gambling license issued by the local Gambling Commission, as well as pay a substantial gambling tax. For the full article, please Click here

Recently, one of Israel's most popular Facebook pages, "Twitting Statuses," was first suspended and later permanently removed by Facebook. Reportedly, the page operator had been paid to publish commercial content without using Facebook's advertising system and without clearly disclosing that the content was sponsored. It appears that the operator offered advertisers various media packages, with prices determined by the level of exposure available through the page. After this practice became public, Facebook suspended the page and permanently removed it a few days later. Facebook stated that the actions were taken because the operator had breached its terms and conditions. According to Facebook, the operator had received warnings about this conduct but failed to address them. Despite efforts to reverse the decision, including public statements and a publishing a letter he received from the head of Facebook's Israeli office, the operator was unsuccessful. Without addressing the legal dispute between Facebook and the operator, these events underscore the importance of complying with Facebook's terms and conditions. The time and resources invested in developing the page may now be lost, resulting in significant financial harm and a substantial loss of value. This is no minor matter: according to media reports, before the page was removed, the operator had sought ILS 10 million (approximately USD 2.5 million) for it. The page had approximately 700,000 followers, and the operator claimed it generated exposure to millions of users. Businesses that rely on a Facebook page, or any other third-party platform, depend on the continued availability of that platform. Where a business model is designed to generate followers and build value without complying with the platform's rules, that value may disappear quickly. Moreover, where third-party investors are involved, the entrepreneur may face potential claims if the business's core platform-dependent model was inherently vulnerable to suspension or removal. Entrepreneurs should therefore carefully observe the rules of every third-party platform on which their business depends. Failure to do so may expose them to significant financial and legal risks.

360Law website published our Overview Of Gambling Law In Israel. In our overview we provide an analysis of  current laws in Israel and discusses innovations and possible future developments therein.

Barnea, IVC, and SpotOption invite you to "Online Financial Trading NOW" Conference. The conference will deal in opportunities, challenges, innovations and trends in the Online Financial Trading Industry. The event will be held on Tuesday, May 5, 2015, 08:30-13:00 at Meirhoff Gallery, Dovnov 8, Tel Aviv.

Micky Barnea, managing partner of Barnea, and Koby Simana, CEO of IVC Online, in a joint interview focused on the area of financial trading platforms. In the interview Micky discusses the effects of the new Israeli regulations pertaining to the activities of trading platforms. These regulations will come into effect on May 26, 2015.

Senior industry figures from a host of FX companies met top venture capital investors in Tel Aviv, Israel today at the conference hosted by Barnea and the IVC. To read more, please click here

Micky Barnea, Managing Partner and Head of the Technology department published an article in the IVC annual high-tech book. In the article, Micky asserts that although online financial trading is focused on financial tools, the ability to innovate is a key ingredient in the success of online financial trading companies. As such, they should be treated as high-tech companies.

We represented the leading gambling company, Stride Gaming plc, in its acquisition of the entire issued share capital of InfiApps Limited. Stride Gaming plc, which is listed on AIM, acquired the entire issued share capital of InfiApps Limited, a profitable Israeli internationally-focused mobile social gaming company. The total consideration payable for the acquisition is up to $39.2 million. Of this, an initial consideration of US$21.2 million in cash will be payable on completion, together with an additional earn-out consideration of up to $18 million payable in cash, determined by the EBITDA generated by InfiApps in the two years following completion of the acquisition.

Barnea's partner and head of internet department, published an article in the InterGaming Law magazine, the specialist international gaming law magazine: Casino in Israel - could the notion materialize.

Barnea's partner and head of internet department published an article (in Hebrew) in the Calcalist financial newspaper, regarding a recent Israeli court decision that compensated a plaintiff for defamation published against him on Facebook. Dr. Baruch criticizes the court's reasoning, that sought to place less importance and magnitude in respect of defamation published on Facebook, compared to defamation published via other avenues. Dr. Baruch argues, as outlined in the article, that defamation published on Facebook should be treated in the exact same manner in which any other published defamation is treated.

The unending struggle of keeping the net neutrality will determine how internet suppliers treat online content. In the meantime, Netflix is not satisfied .

Our Head on Internet Department was nominated as a leading practitioner in the field of entertainment in Israel by the 2014 edition of Whos' Who Legal, one of the leading global legal guides.

We are the authors of the Israeli chapter in the International Comparative Legal Guide to Gambling 2015. The Guide covers a range of topics including: relevant authorities and legislation, application for a license and license restrictions, enforcement, liability and more. This publication is one of 38 ICLG guides published which cover all major practice areas and provide in-house counsel with a legal overview in different jurisdictions.

Barnea has once again been chosen to be included in the 2015 InterGame Year Book Directory as one of the law firms advising the gaming and games industries.

Is it justifiable to block gambling sites? According to a Justice Department memo, a competent police officer may issue an order restricting access to a Web site, if there is a reasonable suspicion that the website is used for betting and that the site will continue to be used for betting if access is not restricted

Trading online financial services, be it foreign exchange, commodities, share prices or stock indexes is the attracting customers all over the world; This has led several jurisdictions to introduce legislation aimed at licensing and regulating the online financial trading market. 

Barnea represents Mr. Menny Benish, Player 2 Player LTD. and R.I.I.G Limited, in a claim for over 12 M NIS against Moshe Tisona and Yalciner Enterprises Ltd.