Turkey may be a Middle Eastern country located mostly in Asia on the Anatolian peninsula above Cyprus and slightly situated in SE Europe, spanning the Balkan Peninsula, bordering Bulgaria and Greece within the Northeast. The northern a part of the country is usually coastal with Black Sea shores while some 40% of the country’s southern border is on the Mediterranean and every one of the eastern border off the peninsula is shared by the Agean and Marmara Seas.
The government has become an increasingly authoritarian regime with a population that’s quite 95% Muslim by all estimations. Every sort of gambling save state-run monopolies or Turkish Wealth Fund (Türkçe) licensed enterprises is against the law. The state lottery (Milli Piyango) and state-run sports and horse betting services are allowed. Online gambling is against the law unless it’s achieved through a state representative. However, the operators don’t offer casino games. Illegal operators are subject to civil and criminal penalties as are Turkish residents who gamble online or at any of the lavish illegal land-based casinos rumored to be located in Ankara.
The Turkish State Monopoly on Gambling
Outside businesses took a stable foothold in Turkey’s gambling monopoly in early 2019. For the 2 years prior, the Ankara government executed an anti-gambling campaign ashore and online to clear the way for state revenues (profits).
Shakedowns
Online casinos were added to a blacklist and therefore the government Information and Communications Technologies Authority (BTK) began scouring the web for anyone offering services or advertising gambling. They also spied on users and have arrested players simply for gambling online. In addition to website (IP) blocking, the government instructed the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) to dam online gambling transactions and identify players who were using Bit coin and other alternative payment methods. In February 2019, the Cyber Crime Division of the Istanbul Security Directorate used quite 5,000 police personnel to conduct raids in 40 provinces arresting many operators and punters.
Turkish players can benefit from bonuses.
Turkish players will, for the most part, have the same access to welcome bonus payments, gambling spins, and reward points as players from around the world. If you use a VPN or other masking technology, your web browser may be unable to ‘tell’ the casino software that you are visiting from Turkey. Relocation is used by many online operators like 1xbet Türkiye Giriş to offer specific bonuses to players in specific areas. Try emailing, contact, or use live chat to inquire about bonuses tailored specifically to you.
Cryptocurrency (Bitcoin et al)
While the government does not consider Bitcoin or other digital currencies to be “money,” it also does not regulate their purchase, sale, or trading. According to the 2019 Statista Global Consumer Survey, one in every five Turkish citizens already knows how to use digital currencies. Most online operators that promote the use of cryptocurrencies include links to pages that explain the process of converting fiat currencies to digital and then selling them back. As of this writing, all major exchanges, including Coinbase, support Turkish transactions. The website includes step-by-step guides and tutorials, and it is very proactive in informing customers when regulatory changes are imminent.
