Turkish police have detained 19 suspects in an illegal betting and online gambling investigation centred in Izmir, as authorities continue to target the financial infrastructure behind unlicensed gambling networks.
The operation was coordinated by the Izmir Public Prosecutor's Office and carried out simultaneously across four provinces.
Investigators said the suspects were linked to bank and crypto accounts connected to illegal betting sites and integrated online panels. Searches at the addresses led to the seizure of multiple digital materials, which are now being examined by police.
Initial findings identified around TL19m ($416,000) in transaction volume across the accounts. Authorities later determined that approximately TL150m in money movement was allegedly connected to illegal gambling activity.
One further suspect remains wanted, while those detained are still being questioned by police.
The Izmir case follows a series of Turkish enforcement actions focused on illegal betting payment routes, promotional networks and technology used to support offshore or unauthorised gambling sites.
Turkey permits limited state-regulated betting through authorised channels, including sports betting and horse racing, while unlicensed online gambling remains prohibited.
Legal guidance on the market notes that illegal betting and gambling activity is banned, with enforcement covering both operators and those facilitating payments or promotion.
Authorities have also increased the scale of recent operations. Earlier this month, Turkish authorities detained 108 suspects in an AI-supported illegal gambling operation and blocked access to 5,151 URLs, including 5,000 illegal gambling websites, 111 promotional or redirect sites and 40 payment intermediaries.
The enforcement climate has also been shaped by scrutiny of betting activity in Turkish football. Reuters reported that the Turkish Football Federation found 371 of 571 active professional referees had betting accounts, with 152 actively gambling. The federation later suspended 149 referees and imposed bans on 102 players.
The Izmir investigation is smaller in scale than several other recent cases, but it fits the same enforcement pattern: tracing bank accounts, crypto routes and platform infrastructure rather than focusing only on website blocking.
Earlier this month, Global Gaming Insider reported that Turkish authorities opened legal proceedings against 55 suspects following raids across 14 provinces, after investigators identified TL24bn in alleged transaction volume.
Turkish reports have stated that around 3.1 million users identified through illegal betting databases could face administrative fines
