An indictment unsealed Thursday in the Tel Aviv District Court charged an IDF reservist and a civilian with using classified military information to place bets on the online Polymarket prediction market.

A joint statement released to the public by the Shin Bet, the Defense Ministry’s security unit, and Israel Police said that following an investigation, several suspects, including the IDF reservist and civilian, were arrested and interrogated.

The State Attorney’s Office decided to file criminal charges, and indictments have now been filed against two of the suspects for “severe national security offenses, bribery, and obstruction of justice.”

Most of the details of the case are still under a gag order.

The indictment follows a report by Kan News last month about a new security case linked to defense officials using classified information on a betting site. However, contrary to reports circulating in recent days, the case does not involve senior defense officials.

The Kan report last month said that defense officials were examining concerns that classified information related to potential strikes on Iran had been exploited on the Polymarket platform. In June 2025, an anonymous Polymarket user placed a series of highly accurate bets on Israeli military activity in Iran, wagering tens of thousands of dollars and earning a profit of about $150,000. The user correctly predicted, among other events, the timing of an Israeli strike and the announcement of the end of the operation.

The report said that security bodies were initially debating whether to open an official investigation after suspicions arose that a person with access to classified material was using such information on the betting site.

“The defense establishment emphasizes that the placement of bets based on secret and classified information poses a real security risk to IDF operations and the security of the state,” the joint statement said. “The security bodies view the acts attributed to the defendants with great severity and will act decisively to thwart and bring to justice anyone involved in the unlawful use of classified information.”

Similar concerns have been raised in the US. In early January, a Polymarket user reportedly earned almost $500,000 after correctly betting that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro would be removed from office—only hours before a secret U.S. operation in Caracas.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)