Turkey Weaponizes Banks in Aggressive Crackdown on Illegal Online Gambling

Turkey has launched one of the most aggressive anti-gambling campaigns in the country’s history, weaponizing the banking system to cut off money flows to offshore operators. Under an “Action Plan” signed by President Erdogan on November 1 and backed by Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc, authorities have already seized $379 million, blocked 233,000 illegal websites, and arrested media executives, football referees, and fintech founders. The message is clear: if the government can’t reach offshore casinos, it will choke off every Turkish lira flowing toward them.

The Scale of Turkey’s Underground Gambling Market

To understand why Erdogan is waging this war, you need to understand the numbers. According to the Sports Toto Organization’s audit report published in September 2025, revenues from Turkey’s legal betting market—controlled entirely by state monopoly IDDAA—reached TL 590.9 billion ($14.1 billion) in 2024. Authorities estimate the illegal market is approximately twice that size.

Research suggests around 11 million Turks between ages 18 and 50 participate in online sports betting. A 2025 study across 26 provinces found that 6.6% of recent gamblers admitted to using illegal online platforms—and that’s just the ones willing to admit it to researchers.

The state monopoly creates a predictable dynamic: limited legal options drive demand underground. IDDAA offers only sports betting, with no casino games, poker, or slots. Anyone wanting those options has exactly one choice—offshore operators that Turkish authorities can’t shut down but can make very difficult to use.

The Fiat Chokepoint Strategy

Turkey can’t arrest operators running gambling sites from Curacao or Costa Rica. It can’t shut down servers in Malta. But it can do something arguably more effective: make it nearly impossible for Turkish citizens to move money to those platforms.

This is the same playbook Indonesia deployed against its $56 billion gambling problem—target the money, not the websites. When you can’t reach offshore operators, you squeeze the payment rails they depend on. Indonesia’s aggressive measures have shown results, with gambling transaction volumes declining as financial surveillance intensified.

The strategy is now being executed with surgical precision in Turkey. Major banks including Ziraat Bankasi, Turkiye Is, and Garanti BBVA began sending warnings to customers during the Christmas period about the legal risks of transacting with unlicensed gambling operators. These aren’t gentle reminders—they’re backed by real consequences.

The 11th Judicial Package: New Weapons

The Ministry of Justice approved the 11th Judicial Package on December 15, 2025, passing Parliament with 274 votes in favor and 77 against. The omnibus bill grants prosecutors expanded powers specifically designed to dismantle the financial infrastructure of illegal gambling.

The biometric requirements are designed to eliminate a common workaround: using false identities or accounts registered to deceased individuals. The 48-hour freeze provision lets investigators act quickly to prevent funds from being moved offshore before court authorization.

Enforcement by the Numbers

The crackdown isn’t theoretical—it’s producing real numbers. Between January 2024 and October 2025, Turkish authorities conducted 1,120 operations against illegal gambling networks. The results are striking.

The website blocking numbers are particularly telling. The 233,000 illegal sites detected in 2024 represents a 39% year-on-year increase from 168,000 in 2023—either illegal gambling is growing rapidly, or detection capabilities have improved, or both. Notably, 56% of these illegal sites were hosted in the United States, with 17% in Armenia and 6% in the Netherlands.

The Football Betting Scandal

The crackdown exploded into public consciousness with the 2025 Turkish football betting scandal—what TFF President Ibrahim Hacioglu called “the largest integrity crisis in modern Turkish football.”

The investigation, which began after suspicious bets on a Second League match where no shots were taken, uncovered systemic corruption at every level of Turkish football. The numbers are staggering.

The most shocking individual case: one referee allegedly placed bets on 18,227 games. Ten referees placed bets on more than 10,000 matches each over five years. The TFF has referred 353 referees and 75 regional match observers to the Professional Football Disciplinary Board.

Beyond referees, 1,024 players have been suspended, including 27 from the top-tier Super Lig. High-profile arrests include Galatasaray player Metehan Baltaci, Fenerbahce player Mert Hakan Yandas, and former Adana Demirspor President Murat Sancak. In December alone, authorities detained 42 suspects in an investigation that uncovered transactions exceeding TL 6 billion (EUR 140 million).

Targeting the Ecosystem

What sets Turkey’s crackdown apart is the scope of targets. Authorities aren’t just going after gambling operators—they’re dismantling the entire ecosystem that supports illegal betting.

In mid-March, a major operation led to the detention of around 50 suspects and the seizure of 23 companies—including a bank and a TV station—all tied to illicit betting networks. The media conglomerate GAiN Medya was targeted as part of an investigation into Anahat Holding, with seven affiliated companies placed under government trusteeship.

The fintech targeting is particularly significant. Investigators found billions of lira moved through digital wallets, cryptocurrency accounts, and informal money transfer systems. By arresting the founders of major digital payment providers, Turkey is sending a message to the entire payment industry: facilitate gambling flows at your own risk.

The Northern Cyprus Escape Valve

Turkey’s 1998 casino ban didn’t eliminate gambling—it relocated it. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has become the de facto gambling destination for Turkish citizens, with casinos specifically serving this market.

The TRNC has recently liberalized casino licensing, paving the way for the number of gambling establishments to double from 32 to 64. Most of the nearly 30 currently operating casinos are located along the coast in Kyrenia (Girne), with others in Famagusta and Nicosia. The territory’s disputed international status creates a legal gray zone that has historically shielded these operations.

That’s about to change. MASAK and the Ministry of Justice have confirmed that the next phase of enforcement will involve international cooperation, with Cyprus, Georgia, North Macedonia, and Armenia identified as priority targets. The stated goal: pressure jurisdictions that host or enable operators targeting Turkish consumers.

The Crypto Loophole

There’s a fundamental tension in Turkey’s crackdown strategy: the country has one of the highest cryptocurrency adoption rates in the world.

Estimates vary, but surveys suggest 40-58% of Turkey’s population owns cryptocurrency—rates rivaled only by Nigeria. Turkey ranks 12th on Chainalysis’s Global Crypto Adoption Index and has the fourth-largest crypto transaction volume globally, behind only the US, UK, and India. The Turkish crypto market reached $32.4 billion in 2024 and is projected to hit $93.1 billion by 2033.

The driving factor is obvious: the Turkish lira. Annual inflation averaged 58.5% in 2024, and the currency hit a record low of TL 39 per dollar in June 2025. Many Turks hold USDT or other stablecoins simply to protect their savings from devaluation.

The fiat chokepoint strategy works when citizens depend on traditional banks. But a population that’s already holding crypto to hedge against currency collapse is one step away from depositing it on offshore gambling platforms that Turkish banks can’t touch. This is the fundamental challenge Turkey will face as its crackdown continues.

What Happens Next

Erdogan’s Action Plan extends through 2026, with escalating enforcement phases. The immediate priorities are clear: tighten bank surveillance, prosecute high-profile targets to send a message, and pressure neighboring jurisdictions to stop harboring operators.

The question is whether Turkish authorities will escalate to crypto-focused enforcement—something that’s much harder to execute and would require cooperation from exchanges that may not be subject to Turkish law. Turkey has announced intentions for strict cryptocurrency regulations scheduled for February 2025, but regulating crypto and actually stopping crypto gambling are very different challenges.

For now, the crackdown is producing real results: money seized, networks dismantled, and the payment infrastructure under sustained pressure. Whether that’s enough to meaningfully reduce illegal gambling in a country with 11 million bettors and collapsing currency—that’s a different question entirely.