Turkey Blocks Dozens of Online Gambling Websites

While the US only has a handful of states that allow online gambling, Turkey's approach to the whole deal is even stricter than US players are familiar with.

According to recent statistics and reports, a total of 110 websites offering gambling activities have been blocked by the authorities across the last five years. The Turkey Telecommunications Authority, known by the letters TIB in the country, has blocked this number of websites and looks set to block more if it finds them in the near future.

No physical casinos have existed in Turkey since 1997

That was the year that Turkey decided to get rid of real-life casinos. This led to the obvious move occurring - namely having lots of gambling sites springing up online instead. The Turkish authorities then started to rid the country of these sites as well, and continue to do so to this day.

The National Lottery has also demanded dozens of websites be closed each year

The figures date back to 2009, when the National Lottery requested the closure of 93 separate websites. This figure increased to 119 the following year. They remained fairly consistent in subsequent years too, as the Lottery demanded 110 sites close in 2011 and 88 in 2012. Last year saw a mere 30 websites earmarked for closure according to the National Lottery in Turkey. The lower number could be due to the fact that the authorities are starting to win the battle against online casinos.

What does the future hold?

Turkey has never liked gambling of any kind. This explains the severe attitude and approach to gambling both in physical casinos and online versions in recent years. Since the closures date back to 1997 it seems unlikely things will change in the near future. According to reports younger people were becoming addicted to gambling in Turkey, and this led to the stricter laws to rid the country of gambling both online and off.

According to reports it is actually against the law for anyone in any other country to promote their services to Turkish gamblers. Of course there are other websites that do welcome Turkish players, and some Turks use technology to ensure they can continue to play despite the bans and laws.

It remains to be seen whether the Turkish government and relevant bodies can completely outlaw the practice throughout Turkey. As it stands this looks incredibly unlikely.