Turkey’s gambling culture is a story of contrasts: centuries of casual social play - backgammon, dice and card games - sit alongside one of the region’s most prohibitive legal regimes. A brief 1990s casino boom ended in a hard ban in 1998, and today the culture is dominated by state football pools (Iddaa) and the national lottery, even as a surge in online betting fuels a national debate about addiction, especially among the young.

Social play and everyday games

Gaming for fun is woven into Turkish social life. Backgammon (tavla) is a national pastime played in tea houses across the country, and card games such as Pişti, Batak and Okey are staples of family and café gatherings - usually for entertainment and bragging rights rather than money. This casual culture coexists with strong religious and legal disapproval of gambling for stakes.

From casino boom to the 1998 ban

Casinos were legalised in 1990 and the sector grew quickly, but it became entangled with organised crime and problem gambling. The 1996 assassination of “casino king” Ömer Lütfü Topal became a turning point: a law banning casinos was passed in late 1996, and the prohibition took full effect on 11 February 1998. Casinos have been illegal ever since - one reason Turkey has no legal land-based casino industry today.

Religion and social attitudes

Turkey is a majority-Muslim country, and gambling (maisir) is discouraged in Islam. That religious backdrop, combined with concerns about crime and addiction, helped shape one of the more restrictive gambling regimes in the region. Yet state-run betting and the lottery are widely accepted as legal, everyday exceptions - a pragmatic line between prohibited private gambling and sanctioned state games.

Football pools, the lottery and horse racing

Today the legal culture centres on three pillars:

  • Iddaa - the state-backed sports-betting brand, dominated by football, now offered through Iddaa and licensed private platforms (Nesine, Bilyoner, Misli and others).
  • Milli Piyango - the national lottery, whose New Year draw is a long-standing tradition.
  • Horse racing - legalised for betting in 1984 and organised by the Jockey Club of Turkey (TJK), founded in 1950.

The modern online-betting debate

The biggest cultural shift is the explosion of illegal online betting, much of it offshore and increasingly reached via mobile apps, social media and crypto. Authorities reported blocking tens of thousands of illegal betting sites in 2025 and launched a 2025-2026 action plan against the trade. Alongside the enforcement drive is a growing public-health conversation about gambling addiction, with treatment providers such as Yeşilay’s YEDAM (helpline 115) reporting rising demand - a debate now firmly part of Turkey’s gambling story.

18+. Gambling can be addictive - please play responsibly and only through legal channels. If gambling is causing harm, call 115.

Sources