Casinos in Turkey
Gambling houses were legalized in 1984, with casinos to follow in 1990. Initially, Turkish players were not allowed in the casinos – they were built for foreign tourists – but eventually the rules changed, and by 1995, Turkish citizens could access the gaming tables.
The public opinion of gambling quickly changed, as many players began developing gambling problems and a connection grew between casinos and organized crime. Shortly after the Islamic Welfare Party gained office, casino gambling was made illegal once again, and by late 1997, nearly 80 Turkish casinos had been shut down.
Even though shortly after the ban the military removed the Islamic Welfare Party out of power after suspicions of having an Islamic agenda, the law stuck and casino gambling in Turkey is still not allowed, either inside casinos or elsewhere.
Turkish tourists looking to gamble either flock to the casinos of North Cyprus or cross the Georgian border to the Black Sea town of Batumi.
Online Casinos in Turkey
The only good way for players in Turkey to enjoy casino style games is to play them online.
Lately, the Turkish government has been on a mission to stop online gambling, but their moves have not made a big impact. They have tried keeping the banks from allowing Turkish players to fund their accounts, but there are plenty of ways around this.
Sites in the UK, Cyprus and the Netherlands have cashed in on Turkey’s illegal market, since many players bypass the blocks by changing DNS addresses or by using proxy servers. However, in lieu of bypassing the IP blocks, the government has introduced fines for players accessing online casinos, but this has proved exceedingly difficult to referee.
Because of this, online casinos can offer their gambling services to Turkish players, and the government of Turkey can do little about it unless players are caught gambling.
By using foreign internet casinos, players can enjoy the thrill of real-money casinos in Turkey.
