Best Turkey Betting Sites
The growth of international online betting has had serious political implications. Particularly, Muslim governments that ban gambling are finding themselves undermined by online betting sites that have easy global access. Although Turkey is one of the few Muslim countries that has legal forms of betting, its policies and regulations remain strict, which limits options in choosing the best Turkey betting sites.
Best Turkey Betting Sites
Legal Issues Surrounding Online Betting in Turkey
Although Turkey is part of the European Union, it does not adhere to the Union's policy of e-commerce equity. In 2006, Turkey launched a campaign against Internet gambling. This campaign made it illegal for companies to advertise their gambling services to Turkish residents. It furthermore implemented laws making it illegal for banks to process transactions related to Internet gambling and made it illegal for Turkish citizens to access international online gambling services.
Problematically for the Turkish government, Turkish law enforcement doesn't have jurisdiction to prosecute internationally-based Internet betting companies for offering services to Turkish residents. This was exemplified in 2008 when Turkey detained and attempted to prosecute two employees of Sportingbet (a United Kingdom based Internet gambling company that was offering services in Turkey) while they were traveling through the country on vacation. The employees were eventually released due to lack of proper jurisdiction. Turkey has since asked Britain to extradite 3 Sportingbet employees. Britain has refused.
Attributes of a Turkish Betting Site
Technically, the only legal form of Internet gambling in Turkey is a state-owned sports betting organization called IDDAA. Sports betting, particularly soccer, is hugely popular in Turkey. In this sense, choosing the best Turkish betting site is quite simple, as there is only one legal option.
On the other hand, illegal online betting in Turkey is flourishing. The laws preventing banks from processing online gambling transactions as well as the laws preventing Turkish citizens from accessing international gambling sites aren't enforced. Furthermore, Turkey garners very little international support in their gambling restrictions, particularly since they don't conform to E.U. trade regulations. In fact, Turkish customers compose a significant percentage of the world's online gambling market.
With this lack of law enforcement in mind, choosing the best Turkey betting site really comes down to whether or not you're willing to break the law. The safest and perhaps best choice is the IDDAA, which for many is sufficient, but for others doesn't cover enough betting options. At any rate, using illegal betting sites that are within Turkey's jurisdiction will certainly cause legal friction. If it is the case that taking the risk of using international sites within Turkey is a serious option for you, then the regular decision making procedure should apply in determining which sites are good and which are not - financial status and betting options are amongst the most important factors.
Although Turkey's gambling laws are more lenient than nearly every other Muslim country, online gambling is heavily regulated and restricted in most cases. Despite this, illegal gambling continues to flourish in Turkey due to lack of enforcement within the Turkish population. It is also due to the lack of jurisdiction regarding internationally based online betting companies. For this reason, choosing the best Turkey betting sites depends on whether or not you're willing to break the law.