TLDR Turkey’s Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi called illegal betting a national security threat. He said illegal gambling costs Turkey $40 billion every year. Çiftçi linked the growth of cryptocurrency and digital payments to money laundering tied to illegal betting. Turkey has blocked over 548,000 illegal betting websites between 2006 and 2025. The global gambling market is expected to reach $205 billion by 2030.
Turkey’s Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi has stepped up warnings about illegal betting in the country. He called the practice a threat to national security.
Çiftçi made the comments in an interview with the Turkish newspaper Habertürk. He said illegal gambling has both moral and financial costs for the country.
According to Çiftçi, illegal betting costs Turkey $40 billion every year. He said the losses hit young people the hardest.
“For every gambling amount, there is a young person’s ruined future,” Çiftçi said. He added that gambling is forbidden under Turkish religious beliefs.
Turkey runs a legal gambling system through its National Lottery Administration. The sports betting arm, İddaa, operates under the Spor Toto Organisation.
Any gambling outside these official channels is illegal under Turkish law. Law No. 7258 makes unlicensed betting a criminal offense.
The law often pairs illegal betting charges with money laundering and fraud charges. This can lead to harsher penalties for offenders.
Crypto Payments Linked to Money Laundering
Çiftçi said cryptocurrency has changed how illegal betting operations move money. He named casinos, junkets, crypto and underground banking as key parts of this system.
“Criminal organisations are no longer robbing with knives or guns, but with algorithms and digital wallets,” he said. He added that authorities are responding using the same tools.
Çiftçi said the global gambling market is projected to hit $205 billion by 2030. He tied this growth to the