Türkiye cracks down on illegal online betting, fraud

ANKARA

Turkish authorities have intensified their fight against illegal betting and online gambling, targeting both social media accounts promoting these activities and criminal networks running the operations.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya reported on Aug. 20 the arrest of 43 suspects in operations spanning 21 of the country’s 81 provinces.

According to the minister, the suspects ran illegal betting websites, facilitated unauthorized money transfers and posted fraudulent advertisements on social media for products such as electric bikes, smartphones and investment schemes to defraud citizens.

The suspects’ accounts handled a total transaction volume of 1 billion Turkish Liras ($24.4 million).

Police seized numerous mobile phones, SIM cards, computers, bank cards and other digital evidence during the raids.

“Just as we patrol the physical borders of our country, we are equally committed to combating crime in the cyber domain,” Yerlikaya noted.

Meanwhile, the Trade Ministry announced that 30 high-profile social media accounts, found to advertise illicit betting and encourage gambling, have been blocked.

Investigations are ongoing as authorities are coordinating with relevant institutions to pursue legal action against the operators behind these accounts.

Local media reports indicate that organized crime groups are increasingly using illegal gambling as a revenue source, resulting in millions of liras lost to the economy.

Last year, approximately 10 million people in Türkiye succumbed to these entrapments.

Legally, betting in Türkiye is restricted to the National Lottery and five licensed private companies, which operate primarily through sports betting and instant-win games.