Turkey to Initiate Major Crackdown on Illegal Gambling

The Turkish State Will Introduce Harsh Punitive Measures for Those Caught Involved in the Illegal Gambling Industry

Reports have revealed that Turkey is preparing to initiate a two-year long crackdown on illegal gambling, including a focus on trying to “prevent the use of alternative spending methods, such as Bitcoin, ethereum and ripple, for illegal gambling activities”

Turkey to Initate Major Crackdown on Illegal Gambling

Turkey’s new gambling offensive will be implemented by the Interior and Justice Ministries in partnership with the Police Department and the Revenue Department. The departments will establish a designated task force that will comprise representatives of the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK), Revenues Department, Financial Crimes Investigation Council (MASAK), and the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK), and will be headed by a special prosecutor. The BDDK will be tasked with preventing the use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for illicit gambling activities, among other duties.

The Turkish state will introduce harsh punitive measures for those caught involved in the illegal gambling industry. Organizers and intermediaries who profit from illicit gambling will be forced to forfeit their income, and houses in which unlicensed gambling is taking place will be temporarily seized. Large fines will be introduced for shops such as internet cafes that facilitate their customers accessing illegal online gambling websites.

The BDDK is expected to monitor banking and credit card records as a measure to detect individuals who are engaged in such activities. The search engine habits of Turkish citizens will similarly be tracked. Websites and media outlets that advertise gambling sites will be shut down, and anti-gambling propaganda will be distributed throughout internet cafes.