According to Editor and Publisher via the Jerusalem Post, Israel Hayom is being bankrolled by Sheldon Adelson, an American casino mogul with close ties to former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. The newspaper's editor-in-chief, Amos Regev, is also a close associate of the former prime minister, Editor and Publisher stated.

A free daily “bankrolled by one person with connections to a political figure” is cause for concern, Professor Eli Pollack, chairman of the non-profit watchdog group Media Watch, told the Post.