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Türkiye's illegal betting market ranges in estimated value from $20 billion to $60 billion, Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz stated on Tuesday, while announcing a multi-agency crackdown that includes AI-assisted surveillance, international cooperation and new legislation.
Yilmaz made the remarks to journalists following a cabinet meeting.
He said precise figures were inherently difficult to establish given the illicit nature of the sector. "Since illegal betting is, by its very name, an illegal field, it is not easy to determine the numbers fully and precisely. However, in various assessments, we are talking about a scale ranging from $20 billion to $60 billion," Yilmaz stated.
The Turkish vice president noted that a comprehensive, multi-dimensional action plan had been prepared on the instructions of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, covering not only judicial enforcement but also communications, financial tracking, international cooperation and digital oversight.
He said financial intelligence unit MASAK and other relevant agencies were engaged in intensive work, and that AI-assisted monitoring mechanisms were among the new tools deployed.
"In recent times, we are also seeing significant progress in the fight against illegal betting in the field," Yilmaz said.
He said the action plan brought relevant institutions together regularly and that additional measures were introduced as needed. "We are continuing our fight against betting and gambling, whether illegal or legal, in terms of its social dimension and within the scope of combating addiction. On one hand, through public institutions, on the other, through civil society, we are also implementing a preventive approach," Yilmaz said.
Yilmaz said illegal betting operated entirely outside any regulatory framework, with no age restrictions, income controls, or protective mechanisms in place.
"These structures can be associated with many different risk areas such as money laundering, terrorism financing and organized crime. There is no oversight or rule mechanism whatsoever. For this reason, they pose serious threats not only economically but also socially. They can negatively affect many families and young people," he said.
Yilmaz said most illegal betting activity was conducted through online platforms and foreign-linked structures, with certain countries and regions serving as operational hubs.
He added the Foreign Ministry had been assigned a role in the effort and that contacts with relevant countries were being intensified. "For this reason, international cooperation became one of the important headings of the action plan we prepared. We assigned our Foreign Ministry within this framework. We are intensifying our contacts with relevant countries and working to establish more effective international cooperation mechanisms and legal arrangements," Yilmaz said.
He added that the Justice Ministry had prepared various legislative arrangements, some of which have already entered into force, with additional work on others ongoing.
"With the coordination of all our institutions, we are continuing our fight against illegal betting and related criminal structures with determination," Yilmaz concluded.
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