Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz has acknowledged that the AK Party government lacks a comprehensive understanding of gambling addiction in the country.
Yılmaz, widely seen as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s key policy enforcer—made the admission while addressing stakeholders at the annual meeting of the High Council for Combatting Addiction.
Since 2019, Turkish authorities have adopted 88 out of 91 recommendations put forward by the Green Crescent, focusing on drug prevention, smoking cessation, alcohol regulation, and digital safety. This has led to the expansion of rehabilitation centres, a rise in cessation clinics, the introduction of educational programmes in schools, and strengthened customs surveillance to curb narcotics trafficking.
However, Yılmaz acknowledged that despite broad progress across addiction policies, gambling especially online gambling—remains a blind spot that has not been properly addressed by current frameworks.
It comes as the economic impact of gambling addiction continues to take its toll in Turkey, something heavily attributed to the prevalence of illegal gambling operations.
Yilmaz, President Erdogan and the AK government are reportedly calling on the federal police and intelligence agencies to implement a national action plan to tackle the issue, in many ways mirroring their efforts utilised to bring down a significant number of drug networks across the country.
Nonetheless, there is lingering criticism from Ali Babacan, a former AK Party minister turned opposition leader, who stated that any investigation would implicate individuals and networks with ties to Erdoğan’s inner circle.
From opposition circles there is a lack of faith that any action against the networks will be taken with any urgency, with some even questioning whether it would lead to the dilution of income for the governing party.
Scepticism was intensified following corruption charges being levelled against Ahmed Faruk Karslı, CEO of Istanbul-based fintech app Papara in May.
There were significant claims that Papara facilitated over 26,000 accounts for illegal betting transactions, worth a staggering ₺12.9bn (around €340m).
Erdogan’s regime has remained silent on the Papara scandal – fuelling speculation around his future at a time when approval ratings are already tumbling.
Yilmaz, who is regarded as one of Erdogan’s main allies with the president, has issued something of a rallying cry for the government to tackle the illicit industry in a bid to ensure integrity is retained.
In spite of the challenges, Turkish authorities celebrated growth on campaigns and initiatives to tackle social harms and improve public health at the annual meeting of the High Council for Combatting Addiction.
However, at the culmination of a recent council meeting, Yılmaz questioned whether the safeguards against gambling should be implemented. This may be a bid to ensure the topic remains prevalent in government discussions and ensure the government retains control over addiction prevention and treatment.
September 15 will see SBC organise a groundbreaking charity football event in Lisbon. Make sure you get the chance to see some of the most legendary names in football by securing your ticket today at https://www.legendscharitygame.com/
