The Turkiyen government is launching a new campaign aimed at solving the domestic illegal gambling problem completely. The offensive, planned over the next two years, will help end illegal activities with measures and solutions.
The specifically designed scope of action will help to halt all underground operations and gambling activities. It will affect both ground-based gaming hubs and gambling websites that require regulation, and is provided by the Home Office and the Justice Department in cooperation with local police departments and the Department of Revenue. The first step in the two-year plan to improve the gambling situation in Turkiye is to raise public awareness with an information campaign.
We will clarify the negative impact of gambling on society as a whole and on individuals, focusing on children and adolescents. In addition, the national plan itself has a certain range of conditions for punishment to be imposed in the case of illegal gambling. The team will be supervised by a special prosecutor and will consist of members of the Turkish Financial Crime Investigation Unit (MASAK), while the Banking Regulatory Agency (BDDK) and the Communications Technology Authority (BTK) will also participate in the crackdown.
In 1998, land casinos were banned in Turkiye, and online casinos were banned in 2006. This, of course, left the only legitimate option for gambling participation limited to the state-run sports betting bodies, the National Lottery and Sports Toto. As part of its intervention campaign, the government plans to bring gaming platforms and offline gambling operators under investigation by national regulators if there are any signs of illegal activity. Heavy prison sentences can be imposed on illegally operated concert halls because they violate the law.
Among the various measures in the two-year plan are revision of current laws, Internet surveillance, prohibition of gambling in both real and cyber payment services, prohibition of gambling advertising, raising awareness of gambling problems, and punitive fines imposed on illegal online operators. To further tighten controls on gambling participation, people who access online gambling pages via smartphones will be contacted by the Turkish ICT authorities via SMS. This is a preemptive measure to block access to these web pages in the future. 홀짝게임
