An Israeli Air Force reservist is suspected of having used classified information to place bets on the Polymarket prediction site relating to Israel’s war with Iran last year, a Tel Aviv court revealed on Thursday.

The defendant, who served as a major in the Air Force, was indicted alongside his alleged accomplice last month on severe security offenses, as well as bribery and obstruction of justice, on suspicion of having bet on the timing of Israel’s opening strikes that kicked off the 12-day war in June 2025.

Authorities have not provided further information on the suspects’ identities or the nature of the bets, as the case was initially subject to a court-issued gag order, which was partially lifted on Thursday evening following a petition from several Hebrew-language media outlets. The details of the case were cleared for publication, but the defendants’ names remain under wraps.

According to the indictment, the reservist was briefed on the operation in a confidential meeting a day before it began on June 13, then notified his accomplice, a civilian, about the offensive.

When Israeli warplanes were en route to attack Iran, the reservist let the civilian know, and the latter placed a bet on the war’s timing, the indictment charged.

The pair allegedly made $162,663 after winning the bet, which they agreed to split evenly between themselves.

According to Ynet, the civilian opened a digital wallet for the reservist and transferred his portion of the winnings to him in cryptocurrency.

The pair continued to place bets on the website, including another winning bet on the end date of the 12-day war, until this year, when they were finally arrested and indicted last month.

In September 2025, the reservist allegedly passed his civilian friend information about a planned attack in Yemen, which won the pair thousands of dollars.

The reservist and civilian again bet in early January, attempting to predict the timing of the next round of fighting with Iran, the Kan public broadcaster reported, but canceled the bet after the civilian saw posts about his account on social media.

Out of apparent fear of being caught, the civilian altered his profile and then deleted the WhatsApp messages between him and the reservist, according to the report.

Prosecutors filed the indictment against the pair in the Tel Aviv District Court last month and sought to keep them in custody until the end of legal proceedings.

Following the indictment last month, the IDF said that it viewed the case “gravely,” but stressed that “no operational harm was caused.”

“This constitutes a severe ethical failure and a clear crossing of a red line,” the military said at the time, adding that the alleged actions “are not in line with IDF values and what is expected of servicemembers.”

Polymarket is one of the largest prediction markets in the world, where users can place bets using cryptocurrency, debit or credit cards, and bank transfers.

The commercial use of prediction markets has skyrocketed in recent years, opening the door for people to wager their money on the likelihood of a growing list of future events. But despite some eye-catching windfalls, many traders still lose money every day. There have been accusations of manipulation and insider trading by users of the platform.

Polymarket, in particular, has faced intense criticism after some of its users made substantial bets ahead of the war in Iran and the US military action in Venezuela earlier this year. Those users appeared to have profited handsomely from knowing in advance that Trump was going to take military action in those regions.

And earlier this week, The Guardian newspaper reported that bets made on the likelihood of a US ceasefire with Iran last weekend were likely made using insider knowledge.

According to the report, a total of eight new accounts created around March 21 bet almost $70,000 on there being a ceasefire before March 31. They stand to win nearly $820,000.

The accounts seem to have been created last week when US President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he was considering “winding down” strikes against Iran amid the US-Israeli war with the Islamic Republic, which began on February 28. Days later, Trump revealed that his administration was engaged in what he said were productive talks with Iran regarding a “complete and total resolution” of the hostilities.

In an incident earlier this month, The Times of Israel’s military correspondent faced death threats and harassment from Polymarket gamblers who had bet on an Iranian missile attack on Israel and were trying to get him to change his reporting so they could win a bet.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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