Turkey to Attack Online Gambling ?
Published: Friday, March 11, 2005 Online-Casinos.com
TURKEY TO ATTACK ONLINE GAMBLING ?
Checking credit cards and blocking
websites proposed
According to the Turkish daily news the burgeoning Internet
gambling industry in Turkey could face legislative difficulties in the months
ahead. Government ministries and other organisations are to launch a campaign
to fight online gambling and betting, by blocking Web sites, following credit
card transactions and introducing new taxes
The number of illegal gambling
and betting sites on the Internet is increasing day by day, says the report. Committees
composed of various Turkish state ministries, the Banking Regulation and Supervision
Agency (BDDK), universities, Internet service providers and various non-governmental
organisations are pursuing efforts to combat such sites, reports the Anatolia
news agency.
Related units are working to fight illegal gambling and
betting sites through introducing legal sanctions. In this respect, it has been
decided that certain clauses would be added to a draft bill that seeks to reorganise
the Turkish National Lottery Administration's (MPI) structure.
Under
the bill, the MPI will be in charge of undertaking arrangements on and oversee
“virtual” betting games and lottery draws. Furthermore, those violating
the new decrees will face fines and imprisonment.
One of the courses
of action the MPI will be responsible for, in coordination with relevant committees,
is to block access to illegal gaming and betting sites over the Internet. Similarly,
advertisement of such sites from other sites on the Internet will also be considered
illegal, in an attempt to decrease their business.
And unspecified but
*related* committees are proposing that people gambling online could be tracked
through their credit card transactions. It has been determined that $2 million
is spent on online gambling through credit card transactions in Turkey. Whilst
some factions want criminal sanctions, banks believe that such an approach would
not be in conformity with the law as it presently stands.
Turkey's General
Directorate of Revenues is adding more pressure by preparing a new bill that would
place taxes on online gambling and betting sites. A top official from the directorate,
noting that credit cards and money orders are being used in this "illegal
activity", said, “Banks and other administrative institutions will add
the ‘lottery tax' to any activity related to online gambling.” The official
said that although the current lottery tax is around 10 percent, the one applied
on virtual games will be twice this rate.
