A comprehensive study of Turkey’s digital gambling landscape indicates that the challenges extend beyond individual choices, evolving into a substantial public health, regulatory, and financial integrity concern.
The research was carried out in collaboration with Yeşilay Danışmanlık Merkezi (YEDAM) and involved analyzing three interconnected datasets covering the period from 2020 to April 2025. This encompassed over 22,000 helpline calls, 14,458 initial clinical assessments, and 3,767 social-service records. The findings were further enriched with in-depth interviews and expert consultations on policy matters.
The report highlights a structural dependency on gambling, significantly driven by three interrelated factors: constant access to digital gambling platforms, frictionless payment systems, and targeted designs of these platforms that encourage continual participation.
An examination of user profiles revealed that individuals seeking treatment had an average age of 34.7 years. Problematic gambling affected a range of socio-economic demographics, disrupting the lives of people with secondary education and stable jobs. Men constituted around 97% of treatment cases, although the data suggested that women might be underreported in treatment statistics rather than absent from gambling activities. The most affected age groups were young adults (26-35) and mid-career individuals (36-45).
A significant number of participants, approximately 83.7%, concealed their gambling habits from family, with 46% experiencing social isolation. Many reported gambling during work hours, leading to a decline in productivity. High-risk occupations noted included security staff, gig workers, and low-income self-employed individuals.
Initial exposure to gambling was frequently through sports betting, but there has been a noted shift towards casino-style digital games. The report pointed to rapid and opaque mechanisms such as digital wallets, instant credit offers, and off-platform payment channels as key contributors to gambling-related harm. Many clients financed gambling through credit cards, loans from family, or informal lenders, often leading to significant debts.
The findings indicated that about 84% of participants experienced gambling-related debt, with 49.8% owing over 100,000 TL ($2,033). Borrowing primarily came from families (52%) and banks (28%), with women utilizing credit cards more (37.1%) and men favoring cash (58%).
The study identified several technological features, including targeted promotions, loyalty and bonus systems, auto-play options, rapid spin mechanics, and aggressive retargeting as exacerbating factors for gambling risks. Personalized platform designs tended to prolong user engagement and lessen awareness of gambling losses.
In response, the researchers urged regulated operators to enhance their approach beyond mere advertising compliance and towards a comprehensive governance strategy focused on consumer harm.
Enhanced financial controls and urgent reforms to advertising regulations were also recommended. The report suggested the implementation of AI-supported transaction monitoring systems and improved coordination among MASAK (Financial Crimes Investigation Board), banking regulators, and law enforcement.
It called for integrating internationally recognized practices, including deposit limits and better access to self-exclusion tools across licensed gambling services. There is a pressing need for updates to digital advertising regulations, including clearer legal definitions for “indirect gambling promotions” and more stringent rules for youth-oriented media outlets.
Data from YEDAM indicates a considerable unmet demand for counseling services and barriers to help-seeking due to stigma, leading to recommendations for expanding digital counseling and supporting anonymous hotlines, family assistance programs, and group therapy.
Moreover, Turkey is intensifying its efforts against illegal betting networks. Recently, law enforcement launched operations across eight provinces targeting these networks, revealed through investigations that traced suspicious financial activities to 177 suspects. These accounts together exhibited financial activities totaling TL17.75 billion.
This crackdown follows Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi describing the black market as a “scourge that corrupts society,” asserting that illegal gambling costs Turkey approximately $40 billion annually. He emphasized the moral and social implications of gambling, stating, “For every gambling amount, there is a young person’s ruined future. According to our beliefs, gambling is haram [forbidden]."
