Turkish police have detained 17 people, including celebrity figures, as part of an investigation into allegations of promoting illegal betting, the private DHA news agency reported on Monday.
The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued detention orders for 21 people alleged to have promoted illegal gambling activities on their social media accounts. Four individuals have not yet been apprehended.
Among the suspects are popular singer Serdar Ortaç; well-known television host and actor Mehmet Ali Erbil; former footballer Batuhan Karadeniz; and social media influencers İbrahim Yılmaz, Muzaffer Zorbey Erkoçlar and Sefa Caner Sarıçam as well as Russian-Turkish dual citizen Aleksander Menshikov.
Police efforts are ongoing to apprehend the remaining suspects, according to DHA, with authorities noting that some are currently abroad.
Public attention has turned to several celebrities and social media influencers who have promoted gambling websites in recent months. An online video featuring Ortaç included an advertisement showing how to play games on an online gambling platform.
Gambling in Turkey is strictly regulated. Turkey banned casinos in 1998, and it banned non-state online gambling in 2006. There is a state lottery (Milli Piyango) and betting services exist, however, as well as some legal online gambling, but illegal gambling continues, particularly related to professional football.
Recently, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) introduced new regulations to crack down on illegal betting advertisements.
According to the TFF, clubs found in violation of the new rules will face fines and, in case of repeated offenses, the deduction of points.
The global scale of the illegal betting market is staggering, with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimating its worth at $1.8 trillion. In Turkey alone, the sector is projected to exceed 100 billion lira, according to the Financial Crimes Investigation Board, the Hürriyet daily news website reported last week.
