Turkey extends advertising restrictions to illegal games of chance
2026-07-30
Source: Global Gaming Insider
Turkey's Ministry of Trade has expanded its advertising ban to include promotions for illegal games of chance, as part of a wider crackdown that saw over 84,000 illegal gambling sites blocked in 2025 and a June operation uncovering $4.2bn in related transactions.
Turkey’s Ministry of Trade has broadened its advertising regulations to explicitly prohibit the promotion of illegal games of chance, supplementing existing bans on illegal betting and gambling. The changes come via amendments to the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices.
The updated rules also target advertisements for fortune tellers, mediums and astrologers. The Ministry stated that the amendments aim to strengthen consumer protection and counter deceptive advertising on digital platforms.
The move builds on earlier actions by the Advertising Board, which had blocked accounts promoting illegal gambling for violating consumer protection laws. The Ministry confirmed it will continue monitoring for misleading ads, those facilitating unlawful activity, or those creating unfair competition.
This advertising clampdown is part of a larger anti-illegal gambling initiative in Turkey. In 2025 alone, the National Lottery Administration blocked more than 84,000 illegal gambling and betting websites. Land-based casinos have been banned since 1998, and non-state online gambling has been prohibited since 2006.
The regulatory push follows a significant operation in June, during which authorities uncovered transactions worth TL193.37bn ($4.2bn) linked to suspected illegal gambling networks. Legal action was initiated against 104 suspects following coordinated raids across 27 provinces.