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What's the best online casino Turkey has to offer in 2024? Considering the laws in place, that's quite tricky to say. If you wanna demystify the Turkish gambling market, keep reading to learn its Dos and Don'ts.
Table of contents Our criteria aggregates many facets of online casinos. These brands you can access from Turkey outscored the others on all points.
It used to be, but not anymore. Gambling has been ILLEGAL in Turkey since 1998.
Those run by the local companies. Those are horse racing, sports betting, and lotteries.
No. Online casinos have been ILLEGAL in Turkey since 2007.
Legal basis: 2006 Regulation on Online Gaming |
Exceptions exist for state-owned gambling companies, although none operate online casinos.
This prohibition applies to Turkish citizens within the Republic of Turkey.
Foreign licensed online casinos, however, continue to accept Turkish players. Registration and licensing in other countries exempt them from Turkish laws.
Authorities focus on unlicensed companies. Though illegal, players usually get away with playing on offshore gambling platforms.
Sports betting and online lottery platforms run by local companies. Among them are:
Türkiye Wealth Fund manages the local gambling market. Issuing licenses is their task. However, they haven't given a single one in decades.
Not anymore, because there are no casinos to play at. Save for sports betting, horse racing, and lotteries, no other options exist.
Yes, they can! The prohibitive laws apply to Turkish citizens only. Tourists, non-residents, and expats residing in Turkey can play at online casinos.
Since gambling is illegal, there's no official gambling age. For players who access international web platforms, the websites' rules apply. That, in most cases, would mean 18 years of age.
There are no land-based casinos in Turkey anymore. As far as brick-and-mortar goes, only horse racing and sports betting shops exist.
Yes and no. It's pretty complicated. The answer depends on the type of activity. The table below may help you get a grip on the taxing system.
| Type | Subtype | Taxable | Notes |
| Foreign online casino | online | Yes. | Personal income tax 15%-35% |
| Sports betting | offline | ||
| online | |||
| Horse racing | offline | ||
| online | |||
| Foreign lottery | offline | ||
| offline | |||
| Domestic lottery | offline | No. | N/A |
| online |
No, it's not. The government-run platforms don't accept crypto payments.
The international internet casinos accept digital currencies. That means Turkish players may engage in crypto gambling.
Since it's illegal to access these websites, crypto gambling is illegal, too.
A few decades ago, gambling in Turkey was legal. The sources differ on the exact year, but around 1983 casinos were legalized. While they generated huge sums, the gambling sector was short-lived.
Casinos in Turkey became illegal in 1996 under the Turkish Criminal Code. The law came into force in 1998. Ever since, the games of chance, including online gambling and betting, are gone.
The casino ban in 1998 was a result of the assassination of the 'casino king' Ömer Lütfü Topal. His criminal ties were well-known, but he was no exception. In fact, the entire industry had connections to the underworld. Money laundering, corruption, and organized crime led to a comprehensive ban on gambling.
As a result, most casinos closed. Those that operated as "private clubs," fell victim to coordinated raids in 2016.
Since then, only small-scale illegal gambling has existed in Turkey.
Cyprus became a hub for former casino businesses, particularly the Northern, Turkish-controlled part. Though the economic potential for tourism and growth is apparent, the ban remains.
Between 1998 and 2007, online gambling in Turkey had no regulation.
From 2007 to 2014, foreign online casinos accepted Turkish players. Since 2014, the government has been more stringent on both players and ISPs. The announced fines for players are exorbitant.
As of recently, among the blocked are poker, bingo and crypto gambling platforms.
Turkey changed its name in 2021, but the gambling laws remained strict. Still, slow changes seem to be in motion.
In 2015, the national lottery in Turkey became private. ERG-Ahlatcı obtained a 10-year license.
This was not a singular event. Around the same time, the other state-controlled gambling operators became private, too. Sports betting (Spor Toto IDDAA) and horse racing betting (Jockey Club of Turkey) are two big names.
What can one infer from these developments? The trends suggest a potential future legalization of online casinos. Whether the state will forgo casino management remains to be seen.
