In a significant political move, DEVA Party leader Ali Babacan has highlighted the growing crisis of online gambling and betting addiction among Turkish youth. Speaking at his party's headquarters in Ankara, Babacan warned that economic hardship and social despair are driving young people toward both legal and illegal gambling platforms, creating what he described as a "social wound" in Turkish society.
According to T24 writer Tolga Şardan, who reported on the meeting, Babacan made the explosive claim that companies licensed to operate online betting platforms in Turkey have direct personal connections to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. "The online betting and gambling companies are personally known to the President," Babacan stated, pointing to what he characterized as hypocrisy in the government's approach to gambling regulation.
The opposition leader painted a stark picture of Turkey's economic decline, noting that approximately 27% of young people are neither in education nor in employment, creating a generation of "home youth" who spend their nights glued to screens and their days isolated from their families. This economic desperation, combined with easy access to online gambling through smartphones, has created what Babacan calls a "perfect storm" of addiction and financial ruin.
Babacan highlighted a particular contradiction in the government's policies, noting that while President Erdoğan frequently cites religious prohibitions against interest rates, the same religious texts also forbid gambling. "When speaking about interest rates, the President says, 'there is divine prohibition,' but when you look at that same verse, gambling is also mentioned. Yet he never speaks about gambling," Babacan observed.
The DEVA Party leader also raised serious concerns about regulatory oversight, pointing to a recent operation on March 14 that revealed an online gambling syndicate had grown so large that it had purchased a bank to handle its funds. "The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) approved the purchase of a bank by a gambling syndicate that had nowhere to put its money," Babacan claimed, suggesting regulatory capture or negligence.
Turkey's position as what Babacan called "an important center for drug trafficking" compounds the social problems facing Turkish youth. He warned against the government's apparent tolerance of Turkey becoming a transit hub for narcotics, noting that when a country becomes a trafficking center, its population gains easier access to drugs.
Economic indicators paint a troubling picture, with housing inflation at 67% and education inflation at 71%, according to official statistics, though Babacan questioned the reliability of these figures. These economic pressures are causing young people to delay marriage and childbearing, contributing to a demographic crisis of "aging without enrichment."
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