Children Gamble Online as Türkiye Faces Alarming Rise in Youth Betting

In Türkiye, people worry more and more about children gambling online. Reports show that even 9-year-olds are betting. 

Yesilay Exposes Surge in Online Gambling Among Kids as Türkiye Fights Illegal Betting

Yesilay, a well-known Turkish group that works to stop addiction, brought this scary news to light, reported Türkiye Today. As online betting gets more common, the Turkish government is trying harder to fight illegal gambling, which pulls in more and more young people.

Yesilay’s counseling centers have seen a big jump in online gambling addiction cases, with many involving kids. Easy access to illegal gambling websites often pushed by internet stars, plays a big role in this worrying trend. Even though Türkiye has made rules to limit online gambling, it is hard to enforce them as betting sites keep popping up.

Since Türkiye passed laws about online gambling in 2006, they have shut down almost 400,000 illegal betting sites. But it is an uphill fight for the authorities. As soon as they take down old sites new ones appear. This has led lawmakers to think about tougher punishments and a complete update of current laws to tackle this problem better.

One of the biggest issues for regulators is that online betting uses cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrencies let illegal betting operators avoid financial checks making it hard for authorities to track and stop these payments. The Ministry of Treasury and Finance and MASAK (the Financial Crimes Investigation Board) are trying to solve this issue, which has made it tougher to control illegal gambling.

Turkish Government Intensifies Efforts to Combat Illegal Online Gambling Amid Rising Challenges

The Turkish government is now working with several ministries to create better plans to cut off the money from illegal online gambling. Even though they block about 20,000 illegal gambling websites each month, these sites come back showing how serious the problem is.

The gambling rules in Türkiye play a big role in making illegal betting popular. Many European countries let companies get licenses to offer competitive betting odds. However, in Turkey, the system is controlled by the government. They set the odds through just one approved company. This means there is no competition, which limits betting choices and leads to lower potential winnings compared to illegal sites. These illegal sites can offer up to double the winning margin.

Also, Türkiye allows betting on multiple matches at once. Illegal platforms, on the other hand, give more betting options. People can bet on single games or specific match details like yellow cards or corner kicks.

Recently, Turkish MP Halil Ozturkwarned the Turkish parliament about the severe consequences of illegal gambling, revealing that it impacts 10 million people and funnels around $10 billion out of the country annually.