Turkey's efforts to combat illegal betting are intensifying, with Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi labeling the underground market as a significant national security issue. During a recent interview with Habertürk, Çiftçi emphasized the widespread nature of illegal gambling, estimating its annual cost to be around $40 billion. He expressed concern over the moral and social implications, stating, "For every gambling amount, there is a young person's ruined future. According to our beliefs, gambling is haram [forbidden]."
Çiftçi underscored that illegal betting has escalated beyond public order concerns and poses a direct threat to national security, referring to it as a "scourge that corrupts society." He highlighted the necessity of being able to detect and respond to this hidden threat, stating, "You cannot manage a threat you cannot see. Türkiye has now reached a capacity to see, analyse and respond to this threat."
Turkey operates an online gambling monopoly managed through its National Lottery Administration and the sports betting operator İddaa, part of the Spor Toto Organisation. The country’s Law No. 7258 criminalizes unlicensed gambling operations, often grouping such offenses with money laundering and fraud, which can lead to severe legal penalties for violators.
Çiftçi pointed out the role of cryptocurrencies in exacerbating illegal betting activities, linking the rapid expansion of digital payments with increased money laundering risks. He explained, "Casinos, junkets, cryptocurrencies and underground banking are the most critical parts of the money laundering infrastructure that fuels international organised crime. The global gambling market will reach $205 billion in 2030."
In response to this rising threat, the Turkish government is enhancing inter-agency collaboration to track suspicious financial activities and online structures involved in illegal gambling. Çiftçi noted that these criminal organizations are increasingly exploiting legitimate financial services and creating shell e-commerce sites to support their operations.
He remarked, "Criminal organisations are no longer robbing with knives or guns, but with algorithms and digital wallets, and we are responding in the same arena."
The government has taken significant steps to curb illegal betting, blocking over 548,420 gambling websites between 2006 and 2025, including 84,000 in the single year of 2025. Furthermore, 12,548 servers and connection addresses associated with unlawful gambling activities were shut down last year.
Thanks to AI-powered monitoring systems, the Illegal Betting and Sports Crimes Investigation Bureau has been able to identify various patterns of suspicious accounts. Additionally, legal actions have been initiated against influencers promoting these illegal gambling sites.
Çiftçi's initiatives against illegal gambling also encompass broader efforts to combat organized crime, human trafficking, and cybercrime. "We deployed law enforcement, intelligence and financial auditing agencies simultaneously in the fight against illegal gambling," he stated.
This crackdown on illegal gambling is part of a larger framework aimed at ensuring public safety, as Çiftçi asserted, "Illegal gambling and international security threats are intertwined. We, as a country, recognized this a long time ago."
