The panel titled "Say No to Addiction: Combating Illegal Betting and Gambling Addiction," organized by the Presidential Communications Directorate, addressed the effects of illegal betting and gambling, particularly on young people, as well as methods for combating them.
Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and Presidential Communications Director Burhanettin Duran delivered the opening speeches at the panel held at the Communications Directorate Conference Hall. The panel was moderated by Prof. Dr. Merih Altıntaş, a member of the Scientific Board of the Turkish Green Crescent Society.
Call for a comprehensive approach
The panel examined the fight against illegal betting and gambling through the lenses of security, education, health, social policy, law, financial oversight and strategic communication. The discussion covered protecting young people from the risks of online gambling, regulating digital broadcasting, combating organized crime groups, deterrent sentencing policies and early-intervention mechanisms.
Prof. Dr. Erol Özvar, president of the Council of Higher Education, said addiction was a multifaceted problem that weakens a person’s willpower, health, relationships and hope for the future. He said technology, gaming, betting and gambling addiction had become serious areas of risk threatening individuals, families and social life.
Özvar said the fight against illegal betting and gambling could not be limited to periodic campaigns or left to the responsibility of a single institution. He said families, schools, universities, public institutions, media organizations, digital platforms, civil society organizations and local administrations needed to assume joint responsibility.
Özvar said universities should be healthy, safe and productive living spaces. He explained that through the Sports-Friendly Campus Program, they aimed to promote an active lifestyle, increase participation in sports activities and strengthen student clubs. Özvar also said the Smoke-Free Campus Implementation Guide, prepared in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and the Turkish Green Crescent Society, covered awareness, education, counseling, referral, monitoring and sustainability.
RTÜK seeks regulatory authority over digital broadcasting
RTÜK President Mehmet Daniş said gambling and gambling advertisements were prohibited by law and that the heaviest sanctions were imposed for violations on radio, television and paid platforms.
Daniş said illegal betting advertisements could appear in live sports broadcasts purchased from abroad because of sponsorships, and that RTÜK took action when broadcasters were able to intervene. He announced that they had prepared a legislative amendment package to bring channels that broadcast news and television series online, subscription services and broadcasters under RTÜK’s authority.
Daniş said RTÜK was preparing to analyze broadcast content more comprehensively through its VİA+ system. He added that the new Smart Symbols Protective Symbol System would include “addiction” as a separate content symbol.
Young people’s bank accounts reportedly rented out
Deputy Interior Minister Ali Çelik said criminal activities had shifted to social media and internet platforms through technological means. He said the fight against illegal betting needed to focus not only on betting activities but also on the financial system used by these structures and the organizations behind them.
Çelik said millions of artificial intelligence-supported scans had been carried out under the Cyber Patrol program, which the Cybercrime Departments had been running for approximately 10 years. He said virtual advertisements on the internet and related activities were being tracked.
Çelik said organized crime groups rented young people’s bank accounts, particularly for 10,000 to 20,000 liras, and used them for money transfers. He announced that approximately 40 organized crime groups linked to illegal betting had been dismantled in the first eight months of the year, that the financial transactions of these structures had reached approximately 60 billion liras and that the number of operations had exceeded 800.
MASAK provides details on suspicious transactions
MASAK President Hasan Kaymak said the board monitored financial risks in various areas, including money laundering and terrorist financing. Kaymak said fraud and illegal betting were among the most significant threats, adding that criminal organizations offered young people commissions or money in exchange for renting out their bank accounts.
Kaymak said young people who rented out their accounts could be treated as the actual perpetrators in judicial proceedings and could face lengthy prison sentences.
Kaymak announced that more than 130,000 suspicious transactions related to illegal betting and gambling had been submitted to MASAK in the first six months of the year. He said 3.5 million people had been analyzed during the same period, 580 analysis files had been opened and more than 650 findings had been forwarded to judicial authorities.
Kaymak said approximately 2,000 transactions belonging to 476 people had been deferred under the suspicious transaction units and that transaction volume worth 1.3 billion liras linked to these transactions had been halted. He said abuses involving the use of point-of-sale devices to transfer illegal betting proceeds had been largely brought under control through inspections and regulatory measures. He added that time limits and transaction restrictions introduced for crypto assets had also limited the transfer of proceeds from illegal betting and fraud.
Green Crescent warns about addiction and advertising
Mehmet Dinç, president of the Turkish Green Crescent Society, said gambling addiction could have serious consequences for health, work, relationships and family life, in addition to financial losses. Dinç said the rate of gambling over the previous 12 months was 46 percent among adults and 17 percent among adolescents worldwide; he added that the rate of gambling at a risk level among adults was measured at 8 percent, while the rate at problem and addiction levels was 1.41 percent.
Dinç said the lifetime gambling rate in Türkiye was 14 percent and that online gambling had shown an upward trend, particularly after the pandemic. He said 75 percent of clients had first encountered gambling before the age of 25, while 78 percent of people with gambling addiction had started with legal gambling.
Drawing attention to the encouraging effect of illegal betting and gambling advertisements, Dinç said 64 percent of participants believed advertisements strongly encouraged gambling. He said the influence of friends accounted for 57 percent of the reasons for starting to gamble, curiosity for 20 percent and entertainment and passing the time for 6 percent.
The Green Crescent Counseling Centers provide free, confidential and accessible psychotherapy and support services. The program was attended by TRT Director General Mehmet Zahid Sobacı, Anadolu Agency Deputy Director General and Editor-in-Chief Yusuf Özhan, and numerous other guests.
