Turkey steps up illegal gambling crackdown with 47,493 blocked sites and crypto probes in 2026

Turkey has expanded its campaign against online illegal gambling in 2026, blocking 47,493 betting websites since 1 January and opening a parallel track on the payment rails behind them. For PSPs, the point is obvious: in Turkey, the regulator and law enforcement are not just looking at the front end of gambling traffic, but at bank accounts, e-money services and crypto wallets too.

1. From 1 January, Turkish authorities carried out 680 operations nationwide, leading to the detention of 5,629 suspects, according to Anadolu and the Ministry of Interior. Of those, 3,231 were placed in pre-trial detention and 1,515 were subject to judicial control.
2. Cybercrime units are monitoring illegal betting platforms, social media advertising and the digital payment systems used by these networks. In other words, the enforcement picture is not limited to site blocking; the financial infrastructure is part of the target set.
3. Cryptocurrencies are now squarely in the investigation. Authorities are tracing bank accounts, e-money services and crypto wallets allegedly used to receive bets and move illicit proceeds, extending a series of operations that began in May after investigators had already identified crypto platforms as a money laundering channel tied to illegal gambling.
4. One of the bigger cases came from the Istanbul Anatolia Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, which identified seven crypto wallets outside Turkey allegedly used by an illegal betting organization. Prosecutors estimate the network moved around US$ 4 billion and ordered the freezing of all bank accounts and digital wallets linked to the suspects.
5. The case is being handled by the unit specializing in terrorism financing and money laundering, with support from the financial intelligence agency MASAK. Investigators say the organization generated revenue from illegal betting and allegedly fixed matches, while also using Turkey’s legal betting system to route funds. Money was reportedly moved through exchange offices and jewelers in the Grand Bazaar before reaching crypto wallets with unidentified owners.

Investigators also say the group recruited people aged 20 to 30 without stable income to use their bank accounts as intermediaries. For a 1% commission, they received periodic deposits of around 100,000 Turkish liras and helped move betting-related funds. During that operation, 80 suspects were detained across 24 provinces, and authorities seized 11 companies, 45 vehicles, 16 houses and 11 plots of land.