We answer everything you wonder about the ban of online casinos in Turkey and the history of physical casinos! Moreover, with all the details.
History of Gambling in Turkey: An Overview
When we look back at the history of gambling in Turkey, we do not need to go back very far. There was a widespread casino culture in Turkey from the early 80s to the end of the 90s. The casino industry, which employed 20,000 people, from young to old, was a giant industry worth $1 billion at that time. However, as a result of the corruption in our country, the casinos were closed by a sudden decision in 1996.
After the closures, a new process began that dates back to the 2000s and gave rise to the online casino industry. currently serving actively in our country. 7 Slot casino This is how the emergence of such platforms began. In today’s article, we wanted to closely examine the entire history of online casinos until they became widespread. If you’re ready, let’s start.
The Beginning of Physical Casinos
Although casinos first started to appear in 1984, it took until the 1990s for them to become fully legal. At that time, the casinos, which were mostly held by the underworld, gradually began to be taken under control. For example, with some rules brought by the state, a limit of 8 hours a day was introduced. Later, different restrictions emerged that the winnings of gambling lovers could only be paid by cheque.
All these legalization efforts were disrupted by the murder of the famous name of the underworld, “Ömer Lütfü Topal”, known as the king of casinos in our country. Even though state control came to casinos, the power of the mafia was still extremely high. There have been repeated accusations against casinos, especially regarding money laundering and financing terrorism. However, the beginning and collapse of casinos occurred almost simultaneously.
At that time, casino owners were saying that a serious unemployment problem would arise with the closure of casinos. They even thought that even tourists coming to our country would be affected by this and that the closure decision should definitely be reviewed. However, despite all these objections, restrictions were first imposed in 1997, and then the process ended with the closure of the casinos on February 11, 1998.
Cyprus Casinos
A large number of unemployed people emerged as an effect of the closure of casinos in 1998. We have already said at the top of our article that 20,000 people were employed in the casino industry at that time. Some moves were made to fill this employment and get the casinos back into operation. New casinos were opened in countries such as Bulgaria and Greece, especially Cyprus.
With these casinos opened, the employment problem was solved and the casino owners were able to continue their business again. Especially the opening of casinos in countries neighboring Turkey has significantly increased the number of tourists in those countries.
In fact, casinos and hotels still constitute the main basis of the economy in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Having learned its lesson from what happened in Turkey, the Northern Cyprus administration has introduced various bans on casinos. For example, local people living in the area are prohibited from entering casinos and gambling.
İddaa.com and Legal Online Betting Sites
After the casinos were closed, there was no movement in the industry for a long time. Although casinos were operating illegally, there was not the slightest legal action. However, in 2004, the “İddaa” brand emerged under the leadership of Spor Toto Organization Presidency. The aim of Iddaa was to allow sports betting to be played legally in our country.
Sports betting, which was initially carried out physically by going to dealers, began to turn into online sites over time. In March 2004, “Bilyoner.com” started to serve as Turkey’s first membership-based online betting site. In fact, we can think of this date as a turning point. Because after Bilyoner, many other brands such as Nesine, Oley, Misli and Tuttur decided to open their own online betting sites.
In the later periods when the internet became widespread rapidly, foreign online casino sites started to provide services in Turkey. Swedish brand Betsson would be a good example of this. Betsson was offering online casino game opportunities, which was an unprecedented service in Turkey at that time. However, due to the strict control of the state, online gambling was completely banned in 2007.
Licensed but Illegal Online Casinos
Even though online casinos were tried to be banned in Turkey, they continued to become widespread day by day. Hundreds of different platforms have emerged, especially with the entry of licensed and reliable casinos in different countries of the world into the Turkish market.
It is now an indisputable fact that there is a serious casino market in Turkey. Nowadays, almost most online casinos are trying to get a share of this market, which includes slot games, table games and sports betting.
As a result, it would not be an exaggeration to say that different casino sites are opened every day. This is how the licensed but illegal online casinos we mentioned in our title emerge. Curacao Gambling Commission or platforms that are legal in different countries provide their services illegally in our country.
However, this illegality does not create any problems in terms of reliability. The casino brand we mentioned at the beginning of our guide has been serving in our country for almost years and they have not been involved in any scandals.
Conclusion
In today’s article, we told you briefly but in detail about the history and development of the casino industry in Turkey. In particular, we explained how casinos, which started in the 1980s and were managed by the underworld, were made legal. We even talked about the destructive impact of the casino industry on Turkish culture, along with increasing corruption.
In addition to all this, we tried to open a separate window into the birth of online casinos and betting sites. We think you can clearly see the entire process, which started with the Iddaa brand and led to the creation of thousands of online casinos today. It is unknown what precautions will be taken regarding Turkey’s casino industry in the coming years.
However, we know that various casino games are gradually being introduced to legally operating betting sites. We will wait and see whether table games such as slots and poker will be added to betting sites in the coming years.