Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz has said Turkey’s illegal betting market may be worth between $20 and $60 billion, as prosecutors and financial regulators step up efforts to dismantle online gambling networks and trace the money flows behind them, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
Speaking to reporters after a Cabinet meeting on Monday, Yılmaz said the size of the illicit market was difficult to measure because it operates outside the legal system.
“Since illegal betting is, by definition, an illegal area, it is not easy to determine the figures fully and precisely,” Yılmaz said. “But various assessments point to a scale ranging from $20 billion to $60 billion.”
His remarks come as Turkish authorities have increasingly targeted the bank accounts, payment systems and cryptocurrency transfers allegedly used by gambling networks to move illicit funds.
Yılmaz said the government had prepared a comprehensive action plan on the instructions of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that covers criminal investigations, financial tracking, international cooperation, digital monitoring and public awareness efforts.
He added that Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) and other state institutions were working on the issue and that new methods, including artificial intelligence-supported inspection tools, had been introduced.
“We can see on the ground that significant progress has recently been made in the fight against illegal betting,” he said.
Turkey permits betting through state-regulated channels, while unlicensed online gambling services are banned.
Yılmaz said illegal betting networks can be linked to money laundering, terrorism financing and organized crime, adding that the lack of oversight also poses risks to young people and families.
“These structures can be associated with many different risk areas, such as money laundering, financing of terrorism and organized crime,” he said.
“There is also no control or regulatory mechanism. There is no age limit, income control or protective framework.”
Turkish authorities have carried out hundreds of detentions and arrests in illegal betting investigations in recent months, targeting suspects from several sectors, including media, finance and football.
In one of the most high-profile cases, an Adana court on May 18 ordered the arrest of 135 suspects, including journalist and television commentator Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı, on charges of illegal betting and money laundering.
Financial reviews conducted as part of the investigation allegedly uncovered suspicious money transfers and laundering activity totaling around TL 100 billion ($2 billion), with prosecutors describing the network as a professional financial crime organization operating at both the national and international levels.
Illegal betting investigations have also reached Turkish football. In a separate betting scandal late last year, prosecutors issued detention warrants for referees, players and club officials, while the Turkish Football Federation suspended large numbers of referees and players over alleged betting activity.
Erdoğan has described illegal betting and online gambling as a serious threat to society and has ordered state institutions to intensify the fight against gambling networks.
Turkey has also stepped up financial crime investigations in recent years following international scrutiny of its anti-money laundering system.
The Financial Action Task Force, the global anti-money laundering watchdog, placed Turkey on its “grey list” in 2021 over weaknesses in its system for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
Turkey was removed from the list in June 2024 after the FATF said Ankara had made “significant progress” in improving its anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing framework.
Since then, Turkish authorities have expanded investigations into illegal betting networks, cryptocurrency transfers and payment companies as regulators seek to prevent illicit funds from moving through the financial system.
According to MASAK’s 2025 activity report, authorities completed 502 analysis files related to illegal betting and sent 545 intelligence reports and information notes to relevant institutions.
The agency said transactions worth 5.1 billion lira ($131 million) linked to accounts allegedly used by illegal betting organizers were suspended as part of anti-money laundering measures.