Turkey crackdowns on illegal gambling
The authorities from Turkey arrested 113 people for operating illegal gambling dens.
Turkey.- Turkey continues its fight against illegal gambling, this time by arresting 113 suspects accused of operating illegal gambling dens. The operation comes after Turkish authorities launched nationwide operations to tackle this problem.
The authorities from Turkey said that other 709 people were detained for other crimes during the operatives. To crack down on illegal gambling, over 20,000 locations were raided. The operatives included more than 28,000 police and military officers.
Despite the fact that casino gambling has been banned for over 20 years in the country, illegal companies change their names to escape the police’s radar and gamblers get small fines due to Turkey’s failed system to enforce its own rules.
Furthermore, Turkey’s police said that they specifically targeted coffee stores, as they are popular locations where illegal operators offer gambling services without raising concerns. Approximately 1650 people were fined during the operation and 76 workplaces were shut down.
Turkey also focused on mobile money transfers
Back in 2017, the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) introduced restrictions on money transfers as part of illegal gambling crackdown.
BDDK’s plans included a maximum of US$128 on transfer orders to mobile phone numbers, as well as a restriction on mobile users to two financial transactions per day. Moreover, the BDDK now requires senders to list their ID numbers and set a 24-hour window where passwords previously sent to transfer recipients remain valid.
“In Turkey, about five million people are involved in illegal gambling, for participation in which money is withdrawn through ATMs,” said the BDDK in 2017.
The crackdown on illegal gambling businesses is developed by the Interior and Justice Ministries in coordination with the Revenues Department and the Police Department. National regulators investigate gaming platforms and venues to shut down unauthorised activities both in the land-based and iGaming sector.
