Officials in Turkey, one of the fastest-growing sports betting regions in Europe, have proposed a radical crackdown on online gambling with operators and players facing potential criminal charges.
A Turkish news agency reported clauses are due to be added to Turkey’s national lottery legislation to specifically outlaw unauthorised egaming sites.
The national lottery will be given the power to regulate virtual betting and gaming and those violating the new decrees will face fines and imprisonment.
The new committee will look to block access to online gambling sites, and advertisements for sites will be considered illegal.
It has also been proposed that Turkish citizens who gamble on unauthorised sites be traced through their credit card usage and charged with a criminal offence.
The crackdown seems to be prompted by a desire to raise tax revenue from the rapidly expanding Turkish online gambling market.
Turkey's General Directorate of Revenues is preparing a new bill that would place certain taxes on online gambling and betting sites.
Licensed operators would be charged a 20% tax rate on gross profits, which is twice the rate currently applied to lottery operators in Turkey.
SportingBet is one of several firms that run a Turkish-language sports betting site, and it is believed to be the third-largest revenue generator for the firm after the US and the UK.
Other firms catering to the Turkish market include Austrian sportsbook BetandWin, through its Beteurope subsidiary, and BetEuro, the European-focused site from VIP Sports.
source : egaming review magazine
