Turkey is intensifying its efforts to combat illegal betting, with Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi labeling the black market as a pressing national security issue. In a recent conversation with Habertürk, Çiftçi shed light on the overwhelming scope of illegal gambling in Turkey, asserting that it incurs a staggering annual cost of $40 billion.
He remarked, “Gambling has moral and social dimensions. For every gambling amount, there is a young person’s ruined future. According to our beliefs, gambling is haram [forbidden].” When addressing public safety, Çiftçi stated, “Illegal betting has long since transcended public order and has become a direct national security issue,” calling it a “scourge that corrupts society.”
The minister emphasized the importance of recognizing and managing such threats, asserting, “You cannot manage a threat you cannot see. Türkiye has now reached a capacity to see, analyse and respond to this threat.”
Currently, Turkey controls an online gambling monopoly through the National Lottery Administration and İddaa, its official sports betting body operating under the Spor Toto Organisation.
The legal framework for combating illegal gambling is outlined in Türkiye’s Law No. 7258, which criminalizes operating unlicensed gambling activities and often links these offenses with money laundering and fraud, increasing penalties for violators.
Çiftçi also pointed out that the rise of digital payments and cryptocurrencies is aggravating illegal betting, transforming it into a significant route for money laundering. He noted, “Casinos, junkets, cryptocurrencies and underground banking are the most critical parts of the money laundering infrastructure that fuels international organized crime,” predicting that the global gambling market will reach $205 billion by 2030.
To address these challenges, the Turkish government is enhancing inter-agency cooperation, focusing on tracking suspicious accounts, financial flows, and online activities aimed at dismantling illicit betting operations.
The minister warned that illegal betting syndicates have begun using legitimate financial instruments alongside shell e-commerce sites and intermediary payment processors to facilitate their activities. “Criminal organizations are no longer robbing with knives or guns, but with algorithms and digital wallets, and we are responding in the same arena,” he asserted.
Further reinforcing the government's commitment, authorities have blocked over 548,420 illegal betting and gambling websites from 2006 to 2025, including 84,000 in 2025 alone. Last year, 12,548 servers and connection addresses associated with illegal gambling were also dismantled.
Utilizing AI systems for technical monitoring, the Illegal Betting and Sports Crimes Investigation Bureau has flagged various suspicious account patterns. The government has also taken legal measures against influencers promoting illegal betting websites, as part of their broader initiative to combat organized crime, human trafficking, and cybercrime.
Çiftçi detailed, “We deployed law enforcement, intelligence and financial auditing agencies simultaneously in the fight against illegal gambling.” He concluded by linking illegal gambling to broader public safety concerns, stating, “Illegal gambling and international security threats are intertwined. We, as a country, recognized this a long time ago.”
