Turkish banking regulator takes action against illegal betting
ANKARA
Turkey’s banking regulator, the BDDK, has taken new measures for cash transactions to prevent illegal betting.
As part of the plan, the regulator limits maximum daily financial transfer orders to cell phone numbers - a practice often preferred over transfers to bank accounts - to 500 Turkish Liras (roughly $130).
The new measures also limit the maximum number of mobile transactions to two per day, while the passwords sent to receivers for security will be valid for only one day. Such transactions will also require the ID numbers of the sender.
The BDDK has cooperating with the Banking Association of Turkey (TBB) and the Financial Crime Investigation Board (MASAK) to craft the change.
The three institutions introduced the new system to increase data quality in tracking suspicious transactions on April 26.
Previously, MASAK had annulled accounts linked to the illegal betting websites. However, these sites then started to make use of lenders’ “transaction to mobile” applications in a bid to bypass the pressure.
In a warning notice, the BDDK recently told banks to closely watch frequent transactions.
Legal betting sites pay 40 percent of their profit in taxes so illegal sites that pay no taxes at all offer higher betting rates to users, raking in around 50 billion liras ($13 billion) in annual business volume, according to experts.
