Internet Gambling Turkey
Posted : admin On 3/31/2022Online casinos accepting players from Turkey Turkey is a Middle Eastern country located mostly in Asia on the Anatolian peninsula above Cyprus and slightly situated in SE Europe, spanning the Balkan peninsula, bordering Bulgaria and Greece in the Northeast. All online gambling (and betting sites in Turkey) was outlawed in 2007 and the government bolstered their stance against Turkish betting sites by introducing stiff penalties for illegal Turkey bet requests and requiring financial institutions to block transactions between Turkish bettors and Turkish bookmakers.
Online casinos have conquered the world, and Turkey is no exception. It has been determined that approximately $ 2 million is spent on online gambling through credit card transactions in Turkey. Turkish authorities, however, were not happy with the spread of online gambling in the country and the Government decided to stop its citizens from accessing and playing on online gambling sites.
Accordingly, the Administrative Regulation prepared by the Turkish National Lottery Administration on the Prohibition of Organizing and Marketing Online Gambling ('Regulation') entered into force on 14 March 2006. Under Article 1 of the Regulation, the aim of the Regulation is to prohibit the organization and marketing of games of chance in virtual media such as computers, internet, interactive TV, mobile phone and similar information environments. The advertising of interactive gambling services is also prohibited under Article 5 of the Regulation.
The purpose of the Regulation is not only to prohibit Turkey-based interactive gambling services being provided to customers in Turkey but also to prevent the ability of people resident in Turkey to access online gambling sites located overseas. In this context, illegal gambling activities will be followed-up and inspected by the Presidency of the Department of Games of Chance.
Pursuant to Article 6 of the Regulation, the Presidency of the Department of Games of Chance will prepare examination reports concerning real persons or legal entities that are domiciled in Turkey or in a foreign country and organizing or marketing gambling in virtual media. The report will include the addresses of the virtual media and all related information regarding such entities in detail. Based on this report, the Department of Law of the National Lottery Administration will apply to the authorized court for cessation of the access provided by internet service providers (ISP) to these websites and seek punishment of the illegal acts. In the event this request is upheld by the court, the Legal Department of the National Lottery Administration will notify the decision to the Telecommunication Authority in order to provide the enforcement of the legal order.
Before this Regulation came into force, no specific law related to online gambling in Turkey existed. As a result, an increasing rate of online gambling occurred in Turkey over the past few years. Although the National Lottery’s efforts are expected to decrease online gambling, there are certain factors that may frustrate attempts to prohibit online gambling. For instance, internet technology renders prohibition practically futile. The internet makes it easier to encrypt messages, to change addresses, and to send and receive messages anonymously. In contrast to the quasi-public and monolithic postal system, the internet relies on thousands of separate and wholly owned private service providers to carry out its deliveries. Providers may simply refuse to cooperate by claiming that it is impossible to discriminate between illicit gaming information and other internet traffic.
In addition, principles of national sovereignty will prevent Turkey from forcing other countries to enforce a ban on online gambling. Turkish authorities already admitted that they cannot stop overseas gaming operations because Turkey does not have jurisdiction over the people abroad who are dealing with online gambling. Consequently, both practical and legal barriers prevent any domestic ban on online gambling from having international effect.
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Gambling in Turkey is highly regulated. Turkey banned casinos in 1998, and it banned non-state online gambling in 2006. A state lottery (Milli Piyango) and betting services exists, however, and has some online gambling, and illegal gambling continues to persist.
History[edit]
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Gambling horses were originally legalised in 1984, and casinos in 1990. New restrictions were introduced in September 1996, including limiting opening hours to 8 hours per day and requiring winnings to be paid by cheque.[1] These followed the July 1996 assassination of 'casino king' Ömer Lütfü Topal.[1] A law banning casinos (partly because of accusations of money-laundering) was unexpectedly announced[2] and approved in December 1996[3] and (following legal action against it) took effect on 11 February 1998.[4] However, illegal casinos continue to exist.[5] At the time of the ban casinos were a $1bn industry employing around 20,000 people.[6]Sudi Özkan, another 'casino king' with 20 casinos, left the country for a time, and was accused of siphoning nearly $700m to Switzerland 'off the books,' eventually returning after making a deal with the Turkish tax authorities.[7][8]
Online gambling was banned in 2006, but the measures to ban it have had limited success. In 2009 it was estimated that a quarter of Swedish firm Betsson's revenues came from Turkey.[9] In 2013 the Turkish Parliament planned to increase penalties for those using online gambling as well as those enabling financial transactions in relation to online gambling.[10]
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Online gambling[edit]
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Online gambling in Turkey is currently prohibited, with the exception of the state-owned sports betting company, IDDAA, which is the only Turkish entity that is allowed to offer internet gambling services. The law that prohibits online gambling in Turkey was passed in 2007 and recently, Turkey has also been taking measures to prevent players from using foreign internet gambling websites as well. Despite the ban on gambling, many Turkish players continue to bet on online gambling sites and are recognized as leading gamblers. In 2013 Turkish government issued the law by which Turkey has become the first country in the world to target individual players instead of gambling operators. Sanctions for anyone caught in Turkey to access online gambling services is a penalty of between £100 and £500 (about $55–278). Casino operators dealing with the Turkish market and bankers serving them can also face the prison conditions at the same time.[citation needed]
References[edit]
- ^ abHurriyet Daily News, 5 September 1996, Casino owners rise against government regulations
- ^Aslaneli, Hakan (1996-12-19). 'Çiller orders casinos closed'. Turkish Daily News. Hürriyet. Archived from the original on 2013-04-18. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
- ^Inter Press Service, 24 December 1996, TURKEY: Casino Workers Lose Out As State Targets ‘Tourist Traps’
- ^Hurriyet Daily News, 29 January 1998, Countdown begins for casino owners
- ^Today's Zaman, 9 September 2012, Online poker in Turkey facilitated by foundations despite ban on Internet gamblingArchived 2014-07-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^BBC, 11 February 1998, Turkish casinos cash in their chips
- ^Hurriyet Daily News, 26 May 2000, From the papers
- ^Hurriyet Daily News, 3 June 2003, Turkish Press Scanner June 3, 2003
- ^Today's Zaman, 28 March 2010, Illegal online gambling still a cash cow despite measures
- ^Hurriyet Daily News, 9 May 2013, Turkey gears up efforts to battle illegal online betting