Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has announced that it will deploy “the full capacity of the state” to combat illegal gambling, which authorities regard as a serious economic and social threat.
Turkey’s Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz made the statement on 12 August as he chaired a meeting to monitor and coordinate the implementation of the Action Plan to Combat Illegal Virtual Betting and Gambling. The meeting was held at the Presidential Complex in Ankara.
The meeting was attended by senior officials and representatives of key government agencies, including Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, and newly appointed Justice Minister Akın Gürlek.
For President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government, August marked the beginning of a new phase in its wide-ranging campaign against illegal gambling operators and the domestic and international networks supporting them.
According to Yılmaz, illegal betting and gambling can no longer be viewed solely as a law-enforcement issue. Ankara sees the black market as a threat to the country’s financial system, with links to money laundering, organised crime, the protection of children and young people, and broader social welfare.
“We are implementing a proactive strategy to stay ahead of the actions of illegal networks,” the Vice President said.
The Turkish authorities’ strategy is based on the Action Plan to Combat Illegal Betting, Games of Chance and Gambling in Virtual Environments, approved by a presidential circular on 1 November 2025.
Previously fragmented measures against illegal gambling have been brought together under a single system. Its implementation is monitored every two months by Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), while coordination meetings chaired by Yılmaz are held every four months.
As the Vice President noted, government agencies have already expanded their capabilities to identify and block illegal platforms, including their websites, servers and associated resources. Additional measures have been introduced to address bulk SMS campaigns, anonymous and foreign-linked communication channels, the use of multiple mobile subscriptions, and vulnerabilities in user identity verification systems.
At the same time, Turkish authorities are strengthening financial oversight. Particular attention is being paid to rented bank accounts, illegal payment systems and channels used to transfer proceeds of crime. Mechanisms for identifying and blocking high-risk accounts are also being improved.
Yılmaz stressed that investigations would not be limited to individual betting accounts and websites. The focus will also be on the “payment infrastructure and organised networks behind illegal gambling operations.”
AI Becomes Turkey’s New Tool in the Fight Against Illegal Gambling
Turkish authorities plan to make greater use of technology in the next phase of their fight against illegal betting and gambling. According to local media reports, authorities have agreed to develop an artificial intelligence-powered system to automatically scan for and detect illegal gambling activity. The need for such a tool stems from black-market operators’ ability to rapidly change domains, infrastructure and payment routes.
Turkey’s Cyber Security Presidency is expected to play a key role in developing the system. AI technologies will enable authorities to identify illegal gambling websites and potentially track their users. According to Yılmaz, traditional monitoring methods need to be supplemented with artificial intelligence-based solutions to speed up the detection of violations and improve the effectiveness of enforcement measures.
The new project builds on existing experience with using AI to analyse financial data in investigations into major illegal betting networks.
In July, for example, investigators in Gaziantep used MASAK banking data combined with AI-supported analysis. This helped identify hundreds of suspects linked to more than three million transactions worth approximately TRY84.3bn ($2.05bn).
Meanwhile, the Justice Ministry’s rhetoric is becoming increasingly tough. On 8 August, newly appointed Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said Turkey was entering a “new phase” in its fight against virtual betting, gambling, narcotics and organised street crime.
Gürlek stressed that the authorities would pursue everyone involved in such networks, from lower-level participants to organised crime leaders: “Do not think the field is empty. The state will come down on you.”
Turkey Steps Up Fight Against Both the Supply and Demand for Illegal Gambling
Ankara’s strategy extends beyond measures aimed at disrupting illegal operators. On 9 August, the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications launched the #OyunaGelme public-awareness campaign aimed at warning the public about the risks of virtual gambling and illegal betting.
The campaign is being distributed primarily through digital channels and includes videos, graphics and infographics. Authorities are warning the public against promises of quick and easy money while highlighting the tactics used by gambling platforms to encourage users to try to recover their losses.
Particular attention is being paid to misleading advertising, social-media content that normalises betting, and gambling promotions involving celebrities. The campaign portrays virtual gambling not as harmless entertainment, but as potentially harmful activity that can lead users into a cycle of repeated financial losses.
As a result, Turkish authorities are adopting a comprehensive approach that combines financial monitoring, cyber enforcement, criminal prosecution, technology-based detection and public-awareness campaigns.
The scale of the illegal market remains significant. According to government data, Turkey blocked access to 548,420 illegal betting and virtual gambling websites between 2006 and 2025, including 84,585 in 2025 alone.
However, Ankara’s statements in August indicate that the authorities no longer consider domain blocking sufficient. The next phase will focus on identifying the financial and technological infrastructure supporting the illegal market, as well as the networks operating behind it.
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