Turkey Detains 59 People in Nationwide Illegal Betting Crackdown

Turkish security forces have detained 59 suspects during a large-scale operation targeting illegal online betting networks, the Interior Ministry announced on Tuesday.

According to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, the raids were primarily conducted in the southern province of Mersin, with related actions also taking place in Sivas, Bursa, Istanbul, Adana, and Manisa. The ministry did not disclose how long the operation lasted.

Of the 59 suspects taken into custody, 34 were arrested and 25 placed under judicial control. Investigators found that the network managed illegal betting websites and laundered money through unauthorized online transfers.

Authorities reported that approximately 22 billion Turkish lira (around 528 million USD) in transactions were traced to these networks over the past nine months.

Gambling in Turkey is heavily regulated: physical casinos were banned in 1998, and non-state online betting has been prohibited since 2006. However, a recent Health Ministry survey found that 10.1% of adults have gambled at least once in their lives, with illegal online betting increasingly popular among those aged 15–24.