Turkish national lottery joins President Erdogan’s gambling war
Turkey’s national lottery office, the Milli Piyango İdaresi (MPİ), has formally joined the government’s sweeping campaign against illegal gambling, marking a new stage in Ankara’s efforts to restore control over the country’s fast-expanding online betting scene.
MPİ Chairman and General Manager Ekrem Candan recently submitted a dossier of about 420,000 criminal complaints against unlicenced gambling websites to the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), which leads the nationwide enforcement drive. According to Candan, MPİ’s data covers 239,000 domains that breach Türkiye’s gambling laws. He described illegal gambling as a “borderless threat” that undermines the country’s youth, economy, and social cohesion.
The development comes as part of a broader government initiative signed into law by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan under the 2025–2026 Action Plan to combat illegal betting, games of chance, and gambling in virtual environments. The presidential circular, published on 1 November, mandates full government mobilisation under MASAK’s central coordination and places responsibility across ministries, financial institutions, and communications agencies.
Over 10K servers blocked by Ankara
MASAK’s investigations show that many of these illegal servers are hosted in foreign jurisdictions such as Malta, North Macedonia, and Georgia. Ankara has issued stern warnings of “aggressive measures” against states and platforms that facilitate Turkish-facing gambling activities, framing the issue as one of national sovereignty and economic integrity.
Since May, authorities have blocked 10,519 international gaming servers and 1,473 advertising sites. Financial intelligence units have tracked illicit flows worth Turkish lira 2.2 billion (€66 million) in 2024 and a further Turkish lira 3.6 billion (€100 million) so far in 2025, signalling the vast scale of underground gambling operations targeting Turkish players.
The crackdown spans multiple government agencies. The Interior Ministry oversees cybercrime units, while the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) is responsible for blocking access to illegal websites, apps, and digital channels.
The Treasury and Finance Ministry is tightening anti-money-laundering and payment surveillance measures, and the Justice Ministry has been instructed to prioritise prosecutions of betting-related offences. Meanwhile, the Directorate of Communications is tasked with monitoring influencer content and social-media advertising linked to gambling promotions.
MASAK has warned that the intersection of social media, digital payment systems, and crypto-assets has made illegal gambling more accessible and harder to detect. It emphasised the need for continuous innovation in both detection and legal infrastructure to keep pace with technology-driven operators.
420K complaints filed by national lottery
President Erdoğan has framed the fight as both a societal and national security priority, vowing that illegal gambling must be visibly reduced by 2026. And so, MPİ filed over 420,000 complaints against unlicenced gambling websites.
Observers describe the campaign as one of Turkey’s most extensive enforcement efforts to date, combining financial intelligence, digital surveillance, and inter-ministerial coordination. Reports from the public-health NGO Yeşilay (Green Crescent) show that gambling-related addiction among under-18s now accounts for 28 percent of all addiction consultations nationwide.
Hundreds of unlicenced betting and crypto-casino sites have been shut down. But they continue to resurface under new domains, platforms, or payment gateways. Turkey’s ability to enforce digital transparency and secure cross-border cooperation will be crucial in determining whether the government can finally outpace and dismantle the country’s rapidly evolving illegal gambling industry.
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