Illegal betting in Turkiye is a problem that is growing and difficult to prevent every passing day. The limited number of legal betting options, the appeal of illegal sites offering high odds and easy access opportunities encourage people around the world to play illegal betting. Especially with the widespread use of the internet and mobile developments, the number of bettors has increased rapidly, and illegal betting has even become an additional source of income for some people. Despite the state’s regulations and strict controls in this area, the legal betting sector continues to grow without slowing down and continues to attract users.
Despite serious steps taken in the fight against illegal betting in recent years, it has not been fully successful in blocking these sites. Many legal betting sites continue their activities using banking transactions, VPN and different techniques. Although access to hundreds of thousands of sites has been blocked in Turkiye throughout 2025, the constant reopening of these sites with new domain advertisements makes the fight even more difficult. In addition, the fact that international betting sites are outside the control of the state and the use of alternative payment methods such as crypto money strengthens the intervention of the methods.
Illegal betting not only causes financial losses but also brings with it many illegal activities such as money laundering, organized crime and fraud. This situation poses a serious threat both economically and socially. So why is the state not fully successful in this area? What factors make it difficult to reduce illegal payments? Here is a detailed examination of why the illegal betting sector in Turkiye cannot be prevented.
The Main Reason Why Illegal Betting Cannot Be Prevented: Legal Betting
The legal betting sector in Turkiye is carried out under state control and within the framework of certain regulations. İddaa, the only legal betting provider in the country, operates under the supervision of the Spor Toto Organization Presidency and provides services only through designated operators.
- Legal Betting Diversity Is Not Enough: With the privatization carried out in 2019, İddaa’s operating rights were transferred to Demirören Holding and the diversity increased a little more. However, this system still does not offer enough diversity for bettors. People who want to play legal betting in Turkiye can only access a limited number of sports branches and certain game options. However, illegal betting sites provide a wide range of betting opportunities such as NFL, MLB, esports, darts and the like, in addition to football and basketball. This situation causes betting enthusiasts to seek alternatives.
- Legal Betting Odds Are Low: One of the biggest disadvantages of the legal betting system is the low odds policy. Iddaa and its online dealers operating in Turkiye are required to offer betting odds according to the criteria determined by the state. However, illegal betting sites can provide services with much higher odds since they are not subject to any regulation. For example, while the odds given for a football match on Iddaa are 1.50, the same match can be offered at a higher odd of 1.75 on an illegal betting site. Since this difference directly affects the earning potential of bettors, many people turn to illegal betting sites despite the fact that it constitutes a crime. Because for bettors, high odds mean more profit.
- Legal Live Betting Options Are Insufficient: Another problem with legal betting is that live betting options are insufficient. When the options are offered widely, the odds are low. When we look at illegal betting sites today, it is possible to play live betting with many different options and high odds in almost every match. In legal live betting, the options are limited and the odds are low. Although card, corner and similar bets have been opened recently, especially for the Trendyol Super League, the options are still far behind illegal betting sites.
- There Are No Casino Games on Legal Betting Sites: One of the reasons why illegal betting sites are preferred is casino games. Many bettors look at the casino games on the sites when they get tired of sports betting. However, legal sites do not include slot games, live casino games and the like. Legal sites, which have recently included games such as Zeplin and Plinko, need to increase their diversity at this point. Pragmatic Play’s slot games and Evolution Gaming’s live casino games account for at least half of the illegal betting sector.
- Legal Betting Bonuses Are Not Attractive: It is seen that bettors who play sports bets sometimes turn to bonuses. First membership, trial, deposit, loss and similar bonuses stand out on illegal sites. Legal sites, on the other hand, only launch campaigns before big matches. This causes bettors to play games on illegal betting sites instead of legal sites. Legal sites must also increase the quality and quantity of bonuses.
- Everything is Recorded in Legal Betting: There may be bettors who prioritize privacy while betting. Especially in geographies like Turkiye, it may be desired for the bettors not to be known. For this reason, illegal sites are preferred instead of legal betting. In legal sites, it has recently been required to enter professional information. However, there is no such requirement in illegal sites. In fact, some crypto-focused sites offer games without even requesting personal information.
- There is No Real Competition Between Legal Betting Sites: Among the problems in the betting sector in Turkiye, there can be considered the lack of real competition. There is Iddaa and its online dealers. Online dealers cannot determine an odd other than Iddaa. Therefore, almost all of them offer services that are copies of each other. Recently, there have been sites that offer slightly higher odds in the forms of Dev Oran, Kral Oran, Özel Oran and similar. However, the difference is not very satisfactory. The fact that a real competitive environment is not created also makes illegal sites attractive.
- The Tax Burden of Legal Betting Sites is Very High: Most of the problems of legal betting sites stem from the taxes collected by the state. High taxes cause the odds to remain low. This makes illegal betting sites more attractive. If the tax burden is reduced, the quality of the service provided will increase. The increase in quality will also turn legal sites into an attractive point instead of illegal betting sites.
- Bet Cancellations on Legal Betting Sites: One of the most annoying problems on legal sites is bet cancellation. Bets can be canceled when incorrect odds are opened almost anywhere in the world. However, the situation is a little different on legal sites. It has been witnessed many times that random bets are canceled on Iddaa. In fact, in some bets, winners were canceled while losers were processed as losses. This damaged trust in legal betting.
- The Logic That AKP Supporters Win from Legal Betting Dominates: The fact that the majority owner of legal betting operations is the Demirören group, which is close to the governing AK Party, is destroying the appetite of lawmakers within the state to make a liberal betting law. Illegal betting is seen as a security problem, and the reasons that push citizens outside the law while legal betting is available are not taken into consideration. Even if they are, seeing these things does not suit the lawmakers.
All these factors reveal the inadequacies of the legal betting system and cause the illegal betting sector to continue to grow despite all the state’s prohibitions.