Turkey

Sports betting in Turkey is a state monopoly under Law No. 7258, with İddaa — operated by the Spor Toto Teşkilatı under the Ministry of Youth and Sports — the only legal provider (since 2019 run by private concessionaire Şans Girişim Ortaklığı under government licence). Horse-race betting is a separate state monopoly operated by the Türkiye Jockey Club (TJK).

All private/foreign online betting and non-state prediction markets are illegal: Law No. 7258 criminalizes offering or enabling unauthorized betting, and such charges are routinely bundled with money-laundering and fraud counts. Enforcement is aggressive — Turkish authorities blocked 548,420 illegal betting and gambling websites between 2006 and 2025, including 84,000 in 2025 alone, and MASAK pursues payment networks, e-wallets and crypto channels.

In 2025-2026 enforcement intensified: President Erdoğan pledged to eradicate illegal gambling "by whatever means necessary", extending the campaign to payment and digital-wallet facilitators, and the government deployed law enforcement, intelligence and financial auditing agencies simultaneously. Minimum betting age 18.

Turkey allows some very limited forms of gambling but most activities are outlawed. State-backed bodies hold monopolies over sports betting (İddaa, under the Spor Toto Organisation) and the national lottery, while all other forms of gambling, both online and in-person, are strictly outlawed. Operators and those who enable unlicensed online betting face strict criminal penalties if caught.

The criminal laws also extend to those who advertise for Turkey betting websites, banking institutions that process financial transactions and affiliates who earn money by promoting online betting. Despite all this, underground gambling is a big industry in Turkey.

Which Betting Sites Accept Turkish Customers?

Some betting websites do accept Turkish customers. Most of the major international betting brands based out of Europe have stopped taking registrations from Turkish residents — although operators such as Betsson are still widely understood to have exposure to the market — and some unlicensed sites based out of other parts of the world still do business in the country.

Those sites are not freely reachable from Turkey, because of the blocking programme set out at the top of this page. The ones that still take Turkish custom hold no licence in a European jurisdiction and are more willing to accept the risks that come from serving people in countries that prohibit internet gambling.

SporToto: This is the Spor Toto Organisation, under which İddaa is the only legal provider of sports betting in Turkey. It allows for betting on football matches and a few other limited types of gambling.

Safety Tips for Betting in Turkey

Online gambling is illegal in Turkey except for wagers placed with Iddaa, which is the country’s monopoly provider for limited types of gambling. Betting anywhere else is unlawful: Law No. 7258 criminalises operating or enabling gambling activities without a licence, often bundling such offences together with money laundering and fraud charges, amplifying legal consequences for offenders. So, my first safety tip is this: don’t gamble online in Turkey.

Credit card deposits and direct bank transfers probably won’t even work: Turkish law criminalises enabling unlicensed gambling, and MASAK now requires banks to report detailed information on transfers of 200,000 lira and above.

Turkish Betting Sites and Online Gambling Laws

Turkey has increasingly clamped down on gambling over the years. Back in the 80s and 90s, gambling was legal in Turkey and brick-and-mortar casinos dotted the landscape. Things changed in 1997 when new laws were passed to completely abolish all forms of gambling across the country.

These new laws didn’t address Turkey betting sites, however, and those remained unregulated until 2006. The government took action that year and implemented a series of measures aimed at eradicating all forms of unlicensed gambling in the country. The new laws made it illegal to operate a gambling site, play at one or process payments for one.

Turkey proved it was serious about these laws in 2008 when it arrested two employees of Sportingbet while vacationing in Turkey. At the time, Sportingbet accepted Turkish customers in contradiction to the laws of the land. This incident prompted Sportingbet and eventually most other major gambling brands to exit the market. The employees were eventually released but the event showed that Turkey was determined and capable of enforcing its laws.

Around that same time, Turkey’s national lottery and telecommunications authority worked together to implement an internet censorship program targeting gambling. The country now actively blocks access to unlicensed gaming sites and other material that the nation deems offensive or immoral.

Turkey passed even more legislation in 2013 to increase the penalties for anyone associated with online gambling. Under the legislation, agents who work for illegal gaming sites and anyone who assists in processing payments now face actual prison time.

The government took additional steps to crack down on online gambling beginning in 2017. On 4 July 2017, the government announced that it will be taking a multi-pronged approach to put an end to illegal online betting in Turkey. These steps include amending existing legislation, monitoring the internet for illegal gambling, enacting payment blocking measures (including cryptocurrencies), increasing awareness of gambling addiction and imposing steep fines on gambling sites that continue to do business in Turkey.

Just a few months after that, the Turkish government announced additional measures to control the flow of money believed to be related to illegal gambling. In November of 2017, the Turkish Banking Supervision Body (BDDK) announced it would be implementing “new controls” over money transfers and investigating individuals who frequently withdraw the maximum amount possible from ATMs in an attempt to stop the flow of money related to gambling.

This development should also be considered in the context of wider happenings in Turkey at the time. It was around that same time that President Erdogan gave a speech decrying businesses that were making money in Turkey only to turn around and “smuggle their wealth abroad.”

That leaves offshore betting sites on the wrong side of two different issues in Turkey. First, these betting sites are violating strict gaming laws and stepping on the foot of the local monopoly provider. That alone was enough to prompt Turkish authorities to initiate a crackdown effort against illegal gambling way back in 2013.

To add insult to injury, those same betting sites siphon money away from Turkey because they are all located overseas and have no physical in Turkey. 100% of everything they earn from Turkish customers goes overseas. In that context, it is not surprising to see Turkish authorities double down in their efforts to put an end to unauthorized gambling.

It doesn’t look like Turkey will be changing its stance any time soon. Anti-gambling legislation seems to get a little stronger every year. If you want to bet online in Turkey, your only lawful option is the state monopoly: everything else is an offence under Law No. 7258, and in 2025-2026 the government deployed law enforcement, intelligence and financial auditing agencies simultaneously in the fight against illegal gambling.