Turkey Interior Minister Labels Illegal Betting a 'Scourge' as Crackdown Intensifies
2026-07-29
Source: iGaming Business
Turkey's Interior Minister calls illegal betting a national security threat, citing $40 billion annual losses and the role of cryptocurrencies in money laundering, as the government reports blocking over half a million betting websites since 2006.
Turkey’s Interior Minister, Mustafa Çiftçi, has escalated his government’s public warnings against unlicensed gambling, describing the black market as a direct threat to national security. In an interview with Habertürk, Çiftçi said the problem has moved beyond public order concerns, stating that illegal betting is now “a scourge that corrupts society.”
The minister put the annual economic damage from unlicensed gambling at $40 billion, adding that each bet placed carries a heavy social cost. “For every gambling amount, there is a young person’s ruined future,” he told the newspaper. He also noted that gambling is considered haram (forbidden) under Islamic belief.
Cryptocurrency as a Money-Laundering Tool
Çiftçi pointed to the rapid rise of digital currencies as a key factor behind the expansion of Turkey’s illegal betting market. He argued that cryptocurrencies, alongside casinos, junkets, and underground banking, form the backbone of a money-laundering infrastructure that sustains international organised crime. “The global gambling market will reach $205 billion in 2030,” he said.
The minister warned that criminal syndicates now exploit legitimate financial tools—such as shell e-commerce sites and intermediary payment providers—to disguise their operations. “Criminal organisations are no longer robbing with knives or guns, but with algorithms and digital wallets,” Çiftçi said, “and we are responding in the same arena.”
Enforcement Crackdown by the Numbers
Turkey operates a legal online gambling monopoly through its National Lottery Administration and the Spor Toto Organisation’s sports betting arm, İddaa. Unlicensed activity is criminalised under Law No. 7258, which often bundles gambling offences with money laundering and fraud charges to heighten penalties.
Since 2006, authorities have blocked 548,420 illegal betting and gambling websites, including 84,000 in 2025 alone. Last year, 12,548 servers and connection addresses used for unlawful gambling were taken offline. Çiftçi said the government now uses AI-powered systems and technical monitoring to detect suspicious account patterns.
Beyond targeting websites, the Interior Ministry’s initiative has expanded to organised crime, human trafficking, and cybercrime. Influencers promoting illegal betting sites have also faced legal action. “You cannot manage a threat you cannot see,” Çiftçi explained. “Türkiye has now reached a capacity to see, analyse and respond to this threat.”