Turkey’s AKP government has reaffirmed its commitment to achieving its principal mandate of eradicating illegal gambling by any means necessary.
The message has been relayed directly to all Turkish state authorities by new Justice Minister Akın Gürlek, who warns that the leadership of each department is accountable to help scale enforcement against illicit operators.
The appointment of Gürlek as Justice Minister follows the latest reshuffle of AKP top ranks by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In February, Erdoğan chose to relegate former incumbent Yılmaz Tunç, replacing him with Gürlek, who had formerly served as Chief Prosecutor of Istanbul.
New Sheriff to bring justice
Having imposed stringent changes to the oversight of Turkey’s financial system and transactions, which as of 2026 are monitored by the intelligence unit of the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), the AKP has moved onto a new stage of its ongoing battle against illegal gambling in which the focus is now on how to prosecute unlicensed operators directly.
Taking charge of the Ministry of Justice in March, Gürlek sent official letters to 171 chief public prosecutor offices across Turkey’s 81 provincial administrations, underlining the central government’s orders to combat and report on illegal betting and online gambling.
Of significance, the Ministry will now demand that Turkish prosecutors hold coordination meetings at least every six months with law enforcement units and MASAK agents.
Gürlek emphasised that prosecutors must take a far more structured and coordinated approach to the investigation of illegal gambling crimes: “These meetings aim to address the practices and problems encountered in the investigation and prosecution processes related to illegal betting and gambling crimes.”
The Ministry of Justice will seek to collect evidence at source on breaches and identify which operators are targeting local communities: “The principal issues are evidence collection, the evaluation of digital materials, the application of measures against assets, as well as appeal and cassation court decisions, which must be examined in detail.
“It is essential that information sharing and coordination mechanisms between institutions are strengthened so that investigations can be conducted more effectively.”
Gürlek further noted that the objective of the directive is to ensure that prosecutors and law enforcement units develop stronger investigative capacity regarding how illicit operators breach digital environments to promote gambling in Turkey.
He said: “By bringing together prosecutors responsible for these cases with the relevant law-enforcement units, we aim to strengthen the knowledge and application capacity of authorities dealing with illegal betting crimes and ensure that the investigation process operates in a more effective and coordinated manner.”
Police enforcement units across Turkey’s regions have been instructed to expand investigations, while MASAK acts as the financial gatekeeper, monitoring suspicious online transactions and sharing intelligence with prosecutors to support criminal proceedings.
Eyes on 11th Judicial Package
The directive forms part of a broader effort by the AKP to toughen the justice code applied to gambling offences, enabling prosecutors to more effectively pursue operators and their financial intermediaries.
Given his mandate, Gürlek will be charged with imposing changes under Turkey’s 11th Judicial Package, authorised by President Erdoğan at the close of 2025. The decree will see Turkey adopt legal changes in 2026 to prosecute illegal gambling with tougher prison sentences, financial penalties and the direct seizure of financial accounts related to aiding illegal gambling.
Beyond domestic measures, the articles of the 11th Judicial Package will embolden the Turkish state to begin the prosecution of foreign businesses. Erdoğan has previously criticised the governments of Georgia, Armenia, Cyprus and North Macedonia for knowingly harbouring illegal operators targeting the Turkish market.
The 11th Judicial Package supports President Erdoğan’s authorisation on 31 October 2025 of the Action Plan to Combat Illegal Betting, Gambling and Games in the Virtual Environment, led by MASAK reporting to the Ministry of Justice.
Gambling is a threat to family values
Alongside the justice crackdown, Turkey’s religious establishment has shown its support to the government’s action plan, framing the fight against illegal gambling as a matter of social and family protection.
The Presidency of Religious Affairs, Diyanet, has warned that the spread of digital betting platforms is exposing Turkish youth to new risks in online environments.
Backing state actions, İhsan Çapcıoğlu reiterated that gambling profits violate Islamic principles of lawful income.
“All forms of ill-gotten gains are forbidden in our religion. If there is no legitimate earning, no effort involved, then the resulting gain is not halal,” he stated. “In gambling, when some win, others lose. When a person wins, they harm someone else; when they lose, they harm themselves. In short, it is a relationship in which one party inevitably suffers harm.”
Çapcıoğlu warned that the consequences extend beyond individual losses and affect wider society. “These kinds of gains in virtual environments result in the suffering of others every day. They create hardship both economically and socially, and they can significantly affect an individual’s mental, emotional and social health. Families break apart, people lose their jobs and social stability is undermined.”
Diyanet has also raised wider concerns about the digital environment in which betting content is increasingly circulated to young audiences. According to studies cited by the council, around 80% of young people are exposed to betting-related content online, prompting the organisation to address the issue through sermons, public awareness campaigns and collaboration with Yeşilay, Turkey’s Green Crescent.
Recep tests state powers
The AKP’s latest moves have also come under scrutiny from opposition parties. The appointment of Akın Gürlek is viewed by the main opposition, Republican People’s Party (CHP), as a direct threat to critics of Erdoğan.
In his previous role as Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor, Gürlek oversaw the arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu in 2025. The high-profile arrest triggered mass demonstrations against the AKP in the capital. The announcement of Gürlek as Justice Minister further inflamed tensions, with the Turkish Parliament witnessing physical confrontations between AKP and CHP lawmakers during proceedings surrounding his appointment.
CHP figures have accused President Erdoğan and the AKP government of using the crackdown on illegal gambling as a pretext to expand monitoring of political opponents ahead of Turkey’s next election.
The election is expected to be a critical judgement of Erdoğan, who is seeking to secure a fourth presidential term to extend more than two decades in power since first becoming Prime Minister in 2003 by any means necessary.
