Experts in Turkey report that even when casinos were banned nationwide in 1996, gambling did not disappear. It returned in digital form, where it is even more accessible and difficult to control than before.
Easier Access and Fewer Social Barriers
According to Mehmet Dinç, president of the Turkish anti-addiction organization Green Crescent (Yeşilay), the pandemic era was crucial to this process. The increased usage of the internet contributed to online gambling growth as well. He believes that this environment gives operators better chances to access a young audience through constant screen exposure and aggressive promotion.
Besides the increased availability, online gambling removes the social barriers that made it easier to spot problematic behavior in the past. One can gamble from their home, office, or even when traveling anywhere else.
Counseling Data Points to a Sharp Rise
Stats reported by 105 Yeşilay Counseling Centers (YEDAM) indicate that this issue has become one of the country’s most serious addiction concerns. In 2025, gambling addiction cases surpassed those related to substance addiction.
Behavioral addiction problems are still considered less severe than cases of drug and alcohol addictions. However, clinicians dealing with affected users say that compulsive gambling behavior leads to serious personal and financial problems very quickly.
Clinical psychologist Tülin Güler, who works at a YEDAM center, noted that the impacts often spread beyond the individual. Families can face mistrust, communication breakdowns, debt, and isolation. Güler said gambling stimulates the brain’s pleasure and reward centers, reinforcing repeated behavior.
Young People Are Being Drawn in Earlier
According to experts, exposure to gambling among young people is being normalised via marketing, peer pressure, and the convenience of placing bets on mobile. Early symptoms, they explain, could be hard to notice. Social isolation, neglect of duties, sleeplessness, and financial difficulties may appear well before family members realize that gambling is the cause.
Psychotherapy, psychiatric care and social support are commonly used to treat problem gamblers, and the treatment process may last about a year. Prevention efforts are also expanding. Yeşilay says its addiction education programs reached about 7 million students this year through school programs, university peer training, and youth initiatives.
Policy Has Not Fully Caught Up
According to Dinç, the process of regulation is not yet keeping up with the pace of the market which it seeks to regulate. Under the leadership of Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, 13 ministries and Yeşilay prepared a national framework plan to combat gambling addiction.
Problem gambling in Turkish society is no longer confined to visible or physical spaces. It is now embedded in daily screen use. In this regard, the crucial question is whether public education, treatment access, and advertising controls can be quick enough to match the speed of the mobile market.
