Turkish study ties frictionless payments to rising gambling harm

A multi-disciplinary study of Turkey's digital gambling sector has concluded that the harm it causes goes beyond individual choice, amounting instead to a public-health, regulatory and financial-integrity problem, according to iGaming Business.

The research was carried out with gambling support charity Yeşilay Danışmanlık Merkezi (YEDAM) and drew on three linked datasets running from 2020 to April 2025: more than 22,000 helpline calls, 14,458 initial clinical assessments and 3,767 social-service records, supplemented by interviews and policy consultations.

The study points to a structural, system-led dependency built on three factors: constant access to digital gambling platforms, frictionless payment systems, and platform designs built to sustain engagement.

On who is affected, the average age of those seeking treatment was 34.7, with cases spanning secondary-educated, stably employed people as well as those on lower incomes. Men accounted for around 97% of treatment cases, though the report suggests women may be under-represented in treatment rather than absent from gambling itself.

Incidence was highest among 26-35 and 36-45 year-olds. Roughly 83.7% of respondents had hidden their gambling from family, and about 46% reported social exclusion as a result. Security staff, gig and night workers, and low-income self-employed people were identified as high-risk occupational groups, with some reporting gambling during work hours and reduced productivity.

Initial exposure to gambling was most commonly through sports betting, though the study notes a recent shift towards casino-style digital games. It found that fast, often opaque payment mechanisms — digital wallets, instant credit offers and off-platform payment chains — were a significant contributor to harm.

Debt was common among those studied: 84% reported gambling-related debt, and 49.8% owed more than 100,000 TL (around $2,033). Borrowing was most often from family (52%) or banks (28%). Women were more likely to use credit cards (37.1%) and men cash (58%).

The report also flags loyalty schemes, bonuses, auto-play and rapid spin mechanics, and aggressive retargeting as risk-heightening features, arguing that personalised platform design extends time on site while reducing users' awareness of their losses. It calls on regulated operators to move past advertising-rule compliance towards broader product governance focused on consumer harm.

A comparison with regulatory approaches in the UK, Germany, the Nordic countries and the US found no single model fit for Turkey, with the report instead backing targeted harm-reduction measures and stronger digital oversight.

Recommendations include AI-supported transaction monitoring and closer coordination between the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), the banking regulator and law enforcement, alongside wider use of deposit limits and self-exclusion tools already used internationally.

The study also calls for updated digital advertising rules, including a legal definition of indirect gambling promotion and stricter controls on youth-facing media, plus expanded digital counselling, anonymous helplines, family support and group therapy to address what YEDAM data show is substantial unmet demand held back by stigma.

The study arrives alongside a separate crackdown on Turkey's illegal betting market. Law enforcement agencies last month launched an operation across eight provinces, following investigations that identified 177 suspects linked to accounts showing suspicious financial activity totalling TL17.75 billion.

Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi has called the black market a "scourge that corrupts society", telling Habertürk that "the annual cost of illegal gambling to Türkiye is $40 billion" and adding that "according to our beliefs, gambling is haram [forbidden]".