Turkish-facing betting sites operated by the group were included 1xbet, Jollybet, Astecbet, Adminka, Betfigo, Betpass, Carnaval, Redobet, and Betbizz.<\/p>\n
The paper trail pointed to Sahin as the ringleader, as well as a Scott William Masterson, a British citizen, who is based in the UK and therefore out of reach of Turkish authorities.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\nLegal gambling in Turkey is limited to the national lottery and the state-run SporToto sports betting outfit. Casinos were banned outright in 1998 and online casinos in 2006.<\/p>\n
Task Force Formed to Wipe Out Illegal Gambling<\/strong><\/h2>\nLast month, the Turkish government announced the launch of a two-year crackdown with the aim of eradicating illegal online gambling.<\/p>\n
A task force composed of members of Turkey\u2019s financial crimes unit, banking regulation agency, communication technologies authority and police department has been given sweeping new powers to target the websites and internet cafes that facilitate illicit gambling.<\/p>\n
These powers include preventing financial institutions from processing transactions related to online gambling and the seizing of the incomes of gambling operators and employees. Vigilance in monitoring of search engines will be increased and affiliate sites providing links to illegal gambling will be shut down.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Turkish citizens who access illegal sites will be sent a chilling text message warning them the government is watching.<\/p>\n
The Chief Public Prosecutor\u2019s office this week charged Sahin with \u201cestablishing a criminal organization\u201d and violating gambling law by offering \u201cgames of chance and betting on soccer and other sporting events.”<\/p>\n
\u201cI came to Turkey because of my father\u2019s illness,\u201d Sahin told the press. \u201cI was going to take my dad to Istanbul. [My] passport was seized. I am a businessman. I have to travel abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n
If convicted he faces a maximum 25 years in prison.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Turkish police have arrested the suspected head of an illegal online gambling operation who had been six months on the run. Alleged gambling kingpin Veysel Sahin was taken into custody in the city of Sivas in central Turkey after he left his hiding place in Lebanon to visit his sick father. Sahin had been sought […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":56660,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,10,19],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Turkey Arrests Fugitive Online Gambling Kingpin Veysel Sahin<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n