Turkish Authorities Seize $365m in Illegal Betting Crackdown

^{Turkish authorities say the raids formed part of a broader push against illegal betting networks. (Photo: Kurmanbek / Wikimedia Commons)}

Turkish law enforcement agencies have launched a coordinated operation against illegal betting networks across eight provinces, uncovering financial transactions linked to 177 suspects.

According to local reporting on Monday, the Interior Ministry said accounts connected to the suspects had shown suspicious financial activity totalling 17.75 billion lira ($365.8 million). The raids took place in Adıyaman, Konya, Manisa, Muğla, Tekirdağ, Siirt, Muş and Çorum.

Cybercrime and Financial Crime Units Coordinate Raids

The operation involved Turkey's cybercrime and anti-smuggling units, the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) and local prosecutors. Officials allege the suspects operated illegal betting websites and facilitated the movement of gambling proceeds through the country's banking and payment systems.

The Interior Ministry said the crackdown on digital illegal gambling would continue as part of a wider strategy to stop criminal proceeds entering the economy through banking and payment infrastructure. Türkiye's Law No. 7258 criminalises unlicensed gambling operations, with offences often combined with money laundering and fraud charges.

Since 2006, the government has blocked 548,420 illegal betting and gambling websites, including 84,000 in 2025 alone.

Officials Link Illegal Betting to Wider Money Laundering Risk

Earlier this year, Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi described illegal betting as a "scourge that corrupts society," pointing to the rapid growth of digital payments and cryptocurrencies as a driver of money laundering.

"Casinos, junkets, cryptocurrencies and underground banking are the most critical parts of the money laundering infrastructure that fuels international organised crime," he said. "The global gambling market will reach $205 billion in 2030."

The comments echoed remarks made at a Directorate of Communications panel on illegal betting and addiction held on 10 September. Deputy Interior Minister Ali Çelik argued that reducing gambling addiction would in turn cut the funds available to criminal networks.

"If we can eliminate this sector, we will also minimise the funds flowing into the hands of the next criminal organisation," Çelik said, in the public statement reported by local media.

Mehmet Dinç, president of the Turkish Green Crescent Society, said tackling illegal betting required action on both supply and demand. "This is an ecosystem: it starts with advertisements and continues through social media, sporting activities, influencers, games, mobile applications, payment systems, loans, bets, losses, debt and continued betting," he said.

Anti-money laundering enforcement against gambling operators has intensified elsewhere in recent months, including tougher anti-money laundering rules for casinos in Singapore, as regulators scrutinise the links between gambling infrastructure and organised financial crime. A separate study published this month found that Europe's illegal online gambling market has tripled in size since 2019, according to industry group Euromat.

Türkiye's Directorate of Communications panel event, held days before the raids, brought together officials, academics and civil-society figures to discuss how the country might curb both gambling addiction and the illegal betting market feeding off it. Monday's operation was presented by officials as evidence that enforcement, not just public messaging, remains central to that strategy heading into the final quarter of 2026.

This report draws on reporting by iGaming Business, citing local Turkish media coverage of the Interior Ministry's statement.