Turkish authorities carried out two large-scale operations against the unlicensed gambling market, completely blocking the payment infrastructure through which over $900 million was transferred. 134 individuals were investigated, 111 of whom were detained.
 

First Operation: $800 Million and 41 Provinces

The Diyarbakır Public Prosecutor's Office, in conjunction with the Cybercrime Unit, is coordinating the investigation. A total of 111 individuals were arrested during raids across 41 provinces. Investigators believe they organized the collection of  $800 million in payments for banned iGaming platforms . The suspects' actions are classified as acting as intermediaries in the transfer of funds to illegal operators and money laundering.

As part of the investigation,  190 bank and cryptocurrency accounts , as well as assets worth approximately $240,000 (nine cars, motorcycles, and two plots of land) were seized.
 

Second case: MYPAYZ and $111 million

The Istanbul Public Prosecutor's Office has launched a separate investigation against 23 individuals associated with the  MYPAYZ payment service . The company's infrastructure was used to process payments for unregulated bookmakers. The total volume of processed transactions exceeded  $111 million .

Proceedings took place in six provinces. As a result,  15 suspects were arrested , seven were released under judicial supervision, and one was placed on the wanted list.

On January 28, 2026, the Central Bank of Turkey revoked MYPAYZ's e-money and payment services license. At that time, the company was already in liquidation. No official reasons for its exit from the market were disclosed.
 

Context: Systemic pressure on payments

The Turkish legal iGaming market exists under the state-run monopoly brand  İddaa . All other operators are automatically considered illegal.

In recent years, authorities have shifted their focus from the platforms themselves to their financial infrastructure. Major fintech services have consistently come under attack:

March 2025  – Investigation into PayFix top management;

May 2025  - Criminal case against Papara management;

January 2026  – PAPEL investigation.
 

Market implications

For operators in the illegal segment, the situation means a sharp reduction in available and predictable payment channels. Pressure on processing leads to increased operational costs: connecting backup channels, redistributing flows, and maintaining uninterrupted payment acceptance require ever more resources.

Moreover, the increased complexity of calculations negatively impacts key metrics—decreasing deposit conversion, slowing payout speeds, and increasing player churn during the account replenishment process.
 

Result

Turkey is steadily increasing pressure on the financial infrastructure of illegal iGaming. The operational sustainability of the gray market now depends not only on access to local audiences, but primarily on the ability to quickly and discreetly adapt payment routes to ever-changing risks.
 

Source

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