The National Lottery Office of Turkey has thrown its full weight behind President Erdoğan’s campaign against illegal gambling in the country.
Erdoğan has been embarking on a campaign against illegality in general across Turkey for much of this year, initially targeting illicit networks operating on platforms like Telegram.
While illicit gambling was initially included in this, Erdoğan stepped up his campaign against black market betting last month, declaring that the underground industry “undermines our families, our youth and our social fabric.”
“It weakens the economy, empowers criminals, and will be eradicated by any means necessary,” he said, as reported by B2B media outlet iGaming Expert, adding that ‘progress must be visible in 2026 — the Turkish state cannot allow this menace to exist any longer’.
At the start of the month, the government published the ‘2025–2026 Action Plan for Combating Illegal Betting, Games of Chance, and Gambling in Virtual Environments’, which places an onus on the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) to fight illegal gambling.
The National Lottery Office of Turkey, the Milli Piyango İdaresi (MPİ), is now joining MASAK’s mission, with its Chairman and General Manager submitting an extensive dossier of criminal complaints made against illegal gambling sites.
More than 420,000 complaints against sites accused of promoting illegal betting have been lodged by the national lottery. Ekrem Candan, the aforementioned Chairman and GM, stated that the lottery is supporting MASAK with ‘years of evidence’.
“We are facing a borderless threat that attacks our youth, our economy, and the integrity of our society,” he told Turkish media. “This is not just an issue of gambling; it is an issue of national security”.
Gambling is a tightly regulated activity in Turkey, being illegal for the most part with the exception of the MPİ, which also operates betting services. The market does continue to provide international business for some, most notably Flutter Entertainment.
In 2019 the Sisal Şans took charge of the MPİ’s operating rights under a 10 year deal. Sisal Şans is a joint venture between Flutter’s Italian subsidiary Sisal and Turkish firm Demirören Holding, the latter also being the operator of the Azerbaijan lottery.
The current situation sees the Sisal Şans-operated MPİ the only legal lottery and betting operator in Turkey, with its only competition coming from illegal operations.
Candan said: “Our responsibility extends beyond prize draws, we must defend the state’s lawful assets and ensure that the lottery, operated through Sisal Şans, continues to serve the public interest.
“President Erdoğan’s mandate is clear: we will not only suppress illegal gambling, but we will build a stronger, more transparent system that protects our citizens and strengthens public trust in our national institutions.”