Turkey’s gambling addiction came to the fore once again, with famous game show Host Mr Mehmet Ali Erbil and pop star Mr Serdar Ortac were detained on charges of enabling virtual gambling. Both were reprimanded to house arrest. According to official sources, 17 ton of narcotics worth TL19 bn were confiscated in 2024, with the market value of narcotics trade in the country estimated at $20 bn by academician Mr Ozan Bingol. Waste water samples taken from Istanbul sewers reveal meth and ecstasy making their way even to the poorest and most conservative suburbs.
Daily Milliyet columnist Ali Eyuboglu commented on Turkey’s growing gambling and drug problem:
Serdar Ortaç, one of the celebrities who was detained in the morning and ordered to be tried without detention in the evening, said at the exit of the court that the number of people caught in the illegal betting disease in Turkey is 50 million.
37 million people in Turkey gamble and bet on social media. Although there are those who claim that the number of drug users exceeds 15 million, all of this information is irrelevant since there is no official study on this subject and no announced numbers.
However, the famous psychiatrist Prof. Dr. The following post made by Arif Productive on his X account after 23 people, including Mehmet Ali Erbil and Serdar Ortaç, were detained due to illegal virtual betting is important:
“In my practice, I see more gambling, betting, virtual game/virtual betting behavioral disorders and addictions than I have ever seen in my professional life… This addiction is generally considered comorbid with alcohol and substances (especially marijuana, cocaine)… There will be a huge social explosion in this area. ”
According to the Ministry’s data, 17.2 tons of drugs were seized in Turkey between January and November 2024. It was reported that the value of the seized tons of drugs was expressed as 18.5 billion TL. It was noted that in addition to drugs, smuggled goods and narcotics worth 37 billion 974 million TL were seized.
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