Turkey Toughens Up Against Poker Players and Internet Gamblers

Turkey Toughens Up Against Poker Players and Internet Gamblers

Wednesday, 19 December 2007

The Turkish daily newspaper Zaman published an article this weekend stating that any ‘virtual’ poker player or gambler caught gambling online will be subjected to fines amounting to hundreds of lira.

The Turkish daily newspaper Zaman published an article this weekend stating that any ‘virtual’ poker player or gambler caught gambling online will be subjected to fines amounting to hundreds of lira.
Zaman believes that around 3,500 people who gamble online have been identified by the police, and these players will be fined 100 Turkey New Lira (just under €60) for each game they play online.
Legislation was passed in late February which meant it was illegal for online gambling services to be offered by ‘unauthorised’ companies to Turkish nationals. Much like the UIGEA in America, the law is designed to protect its partially state-owned gaming company IDDAA.
According to the report in the Turkish newspaper, the police have carried out an operation across the country which has identified 3,500 playes who have contravened the law. Those players have played a total of 46,000 games, although how police came to collate this information.
The majority of the online gamblers come from the cities of Istanbul, Izmir, Kocaeli, Sakarya, Bursa, Edirne, Duzce, Bolu, Antalya and Mersin, the police found during the investigation.



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