Turkish authorities have remanded 32 people in custody following a police operation targeting an alleged illegal online betting network in Tekirdağ and Istanbul.
The investigation was led by the Tekirdağ Public Prosecutor's Office, with the provincial police cybercrime unit examining suspected online betting activity and related financial flows.
Authorities said around TL1bn ($22m) in account transactions was detected during the investigation. Police then carried out simultaneous operations in Tekirdağ and Istanbul against a group alleged to have generated illicit proceeds through unlicensed betting.
A total of 36 suspects were detained. After police procedures were completed, 32 were referred to court and remanded in custody, while four were released under judicial supervision.
The case adds to a wider enforcement phase in Turkey, where illegal betting investigations have increasingly focused on transaction volume, payment channels and digital access points rather than only betting websites themselves.
Turkey permits betting only through authorised operators, while unlicensed online betting and gambling services remain prohibited. Enforcement efforts have intensified during the past year, with authorities targeting both operators and the infrastructure supporting offshore gambling activity.
The Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) has continued to expand website-blocking measures as part of that strategy. According to statements made by BTK Deputy Chair Abdulkerim Gün to a parliamentary commission, illegal betting and gambling sites account for around 62% of online content blocked under criminal enforcement actions.
Authorities have also increased scrutiny of payment providers, affiliate networks and promotional channels connected to illegal gambling. Recent operations have targeted websites directing users to offshore operators, as well as financial routes alleged to facilitate betting transactions.
The Tekirdağ investigation forms part of a broader series of high-value illegal betting cases pursued by Turkish prosecutors in 2026. Several recent probes have centred on transaction volumes running into billions of Turkish lira, reflecting the scale of the country's black-market betting sector despite extensive blocking measures.
Last month, Turkish authorities opened legal proceedings against 55 suspects following raids across 14 provinces targeting an alleged illegal gambling network with reported transaction volume of TL24bn ($526m). The operation formed part of a wider crackdown that has also included AI-supported investigations and the blocking of thousands of gambling-related URLs.
Turkish reports have stated that around 3.1 million users identified through illegal betting databases could face administrative fines under proposed enforcement measures.
