Turkey’s national lottery backs Erdoğan’s crackdown on illegal gambling

• Turkey’s Milli Piyango İdaresi files over 420,000 criminal complaints against illegal gambling websites.
• More than 10,500 international gambling servers and 1,473 related advertising sites have been blocked since May.
• Crackdown is part of Erdoğan’s 2025–2026 Action Plan addressing illegal betting as a national security threat.

Turkey’s national lottery office, Milli Piyango İdaresi (MPİ), has formally joined President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s intensified campaign against illegal gambling.

The campaign, launched in early November 2025, seeks to eliminate unregulated betting websites and virtual gambling platforms posing threats to Turkey’s social and economic stability.

Massive dossier of complaints submitted

MPİ Chairman Ekrem Candan recently submitted a dossier containing over 420,000 criminal complaints to Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK).

The cases target more than 239,000 illegal gambling domains, many hosted outside Turkey in jurisdictions including Malta, North Macedonia, and Georgia.

Candan characterised illegal gambling as a “borderless threat targeting Turkey’s youth, economy, and the integrity of its society.”

Extensive enforcement measures

Since May 2025, Turkish authorities have blocked more than 10,500 foreign gambling servers and 1,473 websites advertising illicit betting services.

MASAK has monitored illicit financial flows exceeding 5.8 billion Turkish lira ($13.2 million) linked to illegal gambling.

The broader crackdown involves multiple government agencies coordinating under Erdoğan’s 2025–2026 Action Plan, reflecting a zero-tolerance stance on unlicensed betting.

National security and social integrity focus

The government stresses that only state-licensed operators such as Spor Toto for sports betting and Milli Piyango for lotteries are legally authorised.

Enforcement efforts have increased following scandals in football betting and wider concerns about corruption.

This unified approach, supported by MPİ’s active role, signals strengthened regulatory oversight and an uncompromising position towards facilitators of unregulated gambling, domestic or abroad.

Sources: Milli Piyango İdaresi official communications