Best Turkish Online Casinos

All casino gambling has been illegal in Turkey for over 20 years. The government first banned casinos back in 1998. Other forms of non-state run gambling were banned in 2006.

In fact, Turkey has one of the strictest gambling markets on Earth today. The market is highly regulated by the government. The Turkish government is constantly looking for new online casinos in Turkey. Whenever a new Turkish online casino appears, it’s usually taken down very quickly. The government is known to be very strict about this and continues to crack down on illegal gambling.

Additionally, there are no legal land-based casinos in Turkey either. All forms of online and offline gambling are illegal in Turkey. The government has also tried to block as many offshore casino sites as it can. These sites cannot be legally accessed from within Turkey.

Illegal Online Gambling in Turkey

As we mentioned, all forms of online and offline gambling are illegal in Turkey. However, some specific state-run gambling is allowed. That said, all casinos are illegal. The Turkish government has outlawed roulette, slots, pinball, and other gambling machines. Poker, bingo, and all other casino games are also strictly illegal. 

Turkish law does not specifically mention online or off-line gambling. Both of these gambling methods are included under the same laws. All forms of gambling are prohibited in Turkey, unless they are state-run.

Legal Online Gambling in Turkey

Despite the strict Turkish gambling laws, there are still some forms of gambling legal in the country. However, they are all state-run. 

Online sports betting in Turkey is legal. However, it can only be done through authorized organizations. The practice is controlled by the Spor Toto Association. This organization allows online sports betting through just two platforms: Spor Toto and IDDAA. These platforms have been issued permits by the Spor Toto Association so they are legally allowed to operate.

Horse betting in Turkey is also legal. However, once again it’s only allowed via state-run organizations. Currently, Turkish horse betting is regulated by the Turkish Jockey Club. This organization has a network of authorized locations where horse betting is legal. Each of these locations must have the proper permit issued by the Turkish Jockey Club. Under these permits, sports betting games known locally as ganyan, plase and bahis are legal.

There is also a legal Turkish Lottery. Lotteries in Turkey are regulated by the state-run National Lottery Administration. This organization has been licensed to provide a lottery game known as Milli Piyango. Only authorized vendors are allowed to offer lottery games in Turkey. All these vendors must also have permits from the state-run National Lottery Administration.

There are actually a few lottery games that are legal in Turkey. The first are numeric games. In these games, players pick numbers which they believe will bring them a win. These games are only allowed under license from the state-run National Lottery Administration. Currently legal numeric games in Turkey include sayısal loto, super loto, şans topu and on numara. These games are only available via licensed dealers.

Instant-win games are also legal under the Turkish Lottery. These are the classic scratch-off style games. Once again, these games are only legal when licensed by the state-run National Lottery Administration. No unauthorized parties can legally offer these games. Right now, the Turkish Lottery offers just one legal instant win game. Locally, it’s known as Hemen-Kazan or kazı kazan. Turkish citizens can only play these games via authorized dealers with permits from the state-run Turkish National Lottery Administration.

History of Online Gambling in Turkey

Gambling laws were not always so strict in the Turkey. Horse race betting in Turkey was first legalized in 1984. Land-based casino gambling was also legal for a while. Turkish casinos were first legalized 1990. 

However, the country soon began to clamp down on these operations. By 1996, new laws were passed to limit Turkish casino gambling. These laws restricted casino hours to just 8 hours per day. Additionally, any winnings could only be paid out using checks.

Unfortunately, this was the beginning of the end for Turkish casino gambling. A prominent businessman named Ömer Lütfü controlled most of the gambling operations in Turkey at the time. He had gained himself a large fortune in the Turkish gambling market. Some estimates say he made over $1 billion USD. Sadly, he was assassinated in the summer of 1996.

We don’t know who exactly who killed Ömer Lütfü. Most reports suggest his death was the result of criminal activity which he was involved in. However, we do know that his death was one of the causes of Turkey’s crackdown on gambling. 

In 1996, the Turkish government banned all land-based casino gambling. At the time, there were a lot of casinos in Turkey. These organizations fought the government on this law for two years. Ultimately, the government succeed and the law took effect in early 1998. 

Turkish online casinos were not made illegal at this time because almost non existed. The internet was still young and online casinos had not yet become big business. However, over the next ten years, online casinos grew rapidly. Online casinos in Turkey were common by the mid 2000s. As a result, the government formally banned all online casinos in Turkey in 2006.