Teen gambling is on the rise in Turkey, with children as young as 15 participating and 6.8 million people — in a nation of 86 million — having gambled at least once. Müzeyyen Yüce reports on Mehmet, who was first drawn to online gambling through a 20-lira coupon and went on to lose over 5 million lira in a year, costing his family two properties.
Mehmet was first drawn to an online gambling site by a 20-lira coupon (worth less than 50 cents at the time). That small coupon led to crushing losses, totaling 5 million lira in a single year. What are known as VIP players bet big and lose big. Mehmet only avoided complete ruin when his family sold two of their properties to cover his losses.
Online gambling sites are easily accessed through smartphone apps and heavily promoted through social media ads. Organized via platforms such as Telegram and WhatsApp, winners, losers, those trapped in the cycle, and employees do not meet in person. Instead of chandeliers, digital casinos are lit solely by the glow of screens. Müzeyyen Yüce spoke with sources across the system and produced a comprehensive report on illegal betting and gambling.
“I couldn’t have earned that money, even if I worked for months, but…”
What started as a “fun” legal bet turned into a deep addiction through illegal online sites. Mehmet, 28, is one of thousands of young people who fell into the trap of illegal gambling.
“I started gambling with legal betting. Then I moved to illegal sites that promised higher winnings. I won a little at first, which fueled my confidence. I started betting bigger. But when I lost, I couldn’t stop. In a year, I lost 5 million lira. My family had to sell two properties.”
Mehmet, who has struggled with gambling addiction for years, lives in Istanbul. He agreed to speak on condition of anonymity. He described how his betting “experiment,” which began as a small foray during his university years, spiraled into an uncontrollable disaster.
He was only 22 when he placed his first slip at a local betting shop. He wagered 20 lira and won 150. He played again and won. The sums were small, but the sense of success was immense, quickly setting him on the vicious cycle that followed.
One day, a friend sent him a link to an online site promising higher returns than legal betting establishments, offering prizes and bonuses, and using colorful interfaces to lure users into a virtual casino. Mehmet called that moment “the beginning of the end.”
“Many of my friends were winning massive sums. Some bought cars or traveled abroad with their winnings. At first, I also won substantial amounts. Money you could only earn by working for months instantly appeared in your account. You can imagine what that means for young people in this country with uncertain futures, struggling to get jobs, or working for low wages. But after a while, the losses started. And by then, it was too late to stop.”
Casinos on your phone
After Turkey banned casinos in 1998, legal betting and gambling gradually became part of daily life, especially with the rise of digital platforms. In the early 2000s, gambling was limited to the National Lottery, sports betting, and horse racing. The industry expanded in the 2010s, with a major turning point following privatization in 2020. Lotteries and betting games became accessible around the clock through mobile apps, allowing slips to be placed in seconds. This shift drove significant growth in legal betting revenue. Spor Toto, a sports betting company, reported annual revenue of $17 million in 2003, which rose to $11.3 billion in 2023.
Betting networks run by organized operators disproportionately trap young people facing economic hardship and uncertainty about the future. Some join as players, while others are employed in call centers or financial networks. Many are left facing debt, addiction, and personal ruin.
Yunus Çetinkol, head of the Human Life Association, says virtual betting and gambling addiction is causing catastrophic social harm:
“During the pandemic in 2020, young people confined at home turned increasingly to online gambling. Legal betting sites and illegal networks alike became highly attractive to youth through advertising and promotions. The perception of state oversight in legal betting strengthened the idea that ‘there is no risk here.’ This creates a gateway to illegal betting. There is no distinction between legal and illegal gambling in terms of harm. Young people visiting illegal sites, even just to watch movies, are bombarded with ads for illegal betting sites before reaching the content. To stop these networks, both regulations in the legal betting sector and research into the psychological, social, and economic factors drawing youth into these systems are needed.”
Kids as young as 15 are now on gambling sites
The “Gambling Report,” produced by the non-profit Green Crescent and the Ministry of Health, shows that people in Turkey are now starting to gamble as young as 15.
The report finds that among those older than 15, 1 in 10 has gambled at least once in their lifetime — roughly 6.8 million people. 71 percent of gamblers are between ages 15 and 24. Nineteen percent first gambled between the ages of 25 and 34. The report also notes that online betting is increasingly becoming a public health concern.
Only six betting sites operating in Turkey are currently legal, with a total subscriber count of 27 million. While difficult to verify, illegal gambling sites are estimated to have around 15 million users.
On some illegal betting sites investigated, a multitude of enticing phrases appear, such as “Deposit 1,000 TL, earn a 500 TL bonus” and “Fast starts, big winnings.” One Telegram channel alone has 36,000 subscribers. Many of these sites, based outside of Turkey, have been observed constantly rotating domains, sometimes hundreds of times, to bypass blocks.
“I almost don’t know anyone who doesn’t play”
Mehmet says that young people often come into contact with these sites simply by clicking an ad:
“It’s so widespread that I almost don’t know anyone who doesn’t play. Even someone who has never touched it before can be drawn in through social media ads, SMS messages, or seeing their friends win big. Avoiding this web is very difficult, especially for someone facing economic hardship and tempted by the lure of easy money. Illegal betting sites build their entire system around this. The first wins aren’t a coincidence. They first sell you hope of winning, then let you win. But immediately afterward, you start losing everything you gained.”
Over time, gambling addiction pushed Mehmet first into financial ruin, then emotional distress, and ultimately life-threatening consequences:
“I didn’t care at first when I started losing. I thought I would win eventually. The more I lost, the more I played, and the more I played, the deeper I went into debt. My credit card was maxed out; I took out a loan. I’ll never forget — I withdrew a 300,000-lira loan in an hour and lost it in 15 minutes. Every time I tried to stop, a voice in my head said, ‘Come on, next time you’ll recover all your losses.’ I kept playing, borrowing from my family and friends. Since my friends were also betting, I could even take substantial sums from their winnings. Eventually, they didn’t have any money left to lend either.”
Giving up his smartphone on the road to recovery
Mehmet faced a massive debt load. He began experiencing panic attacks, which became more and more frequent over time. He tried to cope with gambling withdrawal by drinking:
“I felt like nothing was left of me except my life. My family learned about my gambling addiction and the massive debt I was in. My mother, heartbroken, sold the two of her remaining properties to pay off my debts. There was just enough left to buy a small apartment. I underwent addiction treatment for a while. During that period, I didn’t even use a smartphone to avoid logging into betting sites.”Mehmet, now 30, has not gambled in a year and works at a restaurant earning 40,000 lira a month. “Yes, I might barely make enough to get by, but at least I’m not trapped in a simulation — I’m in the real world,” he says.
Müzeyyen Yüce
Müzeyyen Yüce graduated from Akdeniz University with a degree in Public Relations and Communications. She began her journalism career in 2013 as an intern at DHA and later reported for Antalya Körfez Gazetesi, Gazete Duvar, and Artı Gerçek. She currently works as a freelance reporter.
About the project
The European Union funds the “Support for Media Freedom – Strong Solidarity, Strong Media” project, run by the Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS), the Journalists’ Association (GC), and the İzmir Journalists’ Association (IGC). The program aims to strengthen media diversity and support a free press in Turkey.
Translated and edited by Medyascope English Newsroom
