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An Istanbul court has ordered the prosecution of Galatasaray executives over an alleged illegal betting advertisement displayed on the team’s shirts during a Sept. 14, 2024, Super Lig match against Caykur Rizespor.
According to business news outlet Patronlar Dunyasi, players took to the field wearing jerseys promoting a betting site, while LED boards inside Rams Park also featured the company’s ads. The club later said it had signed a sponsorship deal with Serwin Global Solutions SDN BHD to promote the “meritking.news” brand for the 2024–25 and 2025–26 seasons, worth $14.06 million plus VAT.
While the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office initially closed the investigation without charges, the decision was appealed, including by Türkiye’s state-run Milli Piyango administration.
On July 27, the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of Peace ruled that the incident constituted a criminal offense under Law No. 7258, which stipulates prison terms of one to three years and heavy fines for promoting unlicensed betting or games of chance.
The court found sufficient suspicion to proceed and lifted previous non-prosecution decisions for Galatasaray board member Eray Yazgan and other yet-to-be-identified officials involved in signing the sponsorship deal. The case file has been sent back to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office for formal charges.
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