Turkey steps up fight against illegal gambling: blocks sites and targets cryptocurrencies

More than 47,000 sites blocked and thousands arrested

Turkey's government stepped up its crackdown on illegal online gambling during 2026. Since January 1, authorities have blocked access to 47,493 gambling websites and carried out 680 operations across the country, resulting in the arrest of 5,629 suspects.

According to information released by Anadolu Agency and the Ministry of Interior, 3,231 people were remanded in custody, while another 1,515 were placed under judicial control.

The units specialized in cybercrime maintain permanent surveillance on illegal betting platforms, advertising on social networks and digital payment systems used by these organizations.

Cryptocurrencies, at the center of the investigations

In addition to going after operators, Turkish authorities are focusing their efforts on the financial infrastructure that sustains these activities.

The investigations include tracing bank accounts, electronic money services and cryptocurrency wallets allegedly used to receive bets and channel illicit proceeds.

This strategy gives continuity to a series of operations that began in May, when several investigations had already detected the use of crypto platforms as a mechanism for money laundering linked to illegal gambling.

A $4 billion network under investigation

One of the most relevant cases was brought by Istanbul's Anatolian Prosecutor General's Office, which identified seven cryptocurrency wallets located outside Turkey allegedly used by an organization dedicated to illegal gambling.

Prosecutors estimate that the network mobilized around $4 billion and ordered the freezing of all bank accounts and digital wallets linked to the suspects.

The investigation alleges that the organization derived income from both illegal betting and allegedly fixed matches, as well as using the country's legal betting system to channel funds. The money would have been transferred through exchange houses and jewelry stores in the Grand Bazaar before reaching crypto wallets whose holders could not be identified.

The case is being carried out by the specialized unit on terrorist financing and money laundering, with the collaboration of the financial intelligence agency MASAK.

Accounts used as intermediaries

Investigators also detected a scheme whereby the organization recruited people in their 20s and 30s with no steady income to use their bank accounts as intermediaries.

In exchange for a 1% commission, these individuals received periodic deposits of close to 100,000 Turkish lira and allowed the movement of funds related to illegal gambling.

During the operation, 80 suspects were arrested in 24 provinces and 11 companies, 45 vehicles, 16 homes and 11 plots of land, with an estimated value of 350 million Turkish lira, were seized.

New operations and massive freezing of accounts

In another investigation carried out in the province of Adana, the gendarmerie blocked 4,742 bank accounts and six cryptocurrency wallets belonging to a network accused of running illegal betting platforms.

Authorities reported that the financial analysis detected movements of more than 5 billion Turkish lira among 47 suspects spread across 23 provinces. In addition, assets such as homes, vehicles, land and a company allegedly used as a front were immobilized.

The 2026 World Cup final, the target of a special operation

The offensive also included coordinated actions during high-impact sporting events.

Justice Minister Akın Gürlek reported that the prosecutor's office identified 6,314 bank accounts linked to illegal betting and ordered their freezing simultaneously with the start of the 2026 World Cup final.

According to local media, the accounts were detected using AVCI, an analysis system based on artificial intelligence.

Gürlek also pointed out that the investigation made it possible to identify 19 financial structures based abroad that operated platforms integrated with illegal betting sites, while legal proceedings against 23 suspects continue.

The official reiterated that the government's strategy seeks to completely dismantle the financial networks of illegal gambling through greater coordination between prosecutors, the strengthening of digital evidence and the confiscation of assets linked to these organizations.