Prosecutors in Istanbul are pursuing a case against eight suspects accused of manipulating live betting systems, in a scheme alleged to have caused TL12 million ($241,144) in losses to licensed Turkish bookmakers. The investigation centres on OB, a data analyst at Spordata, which supplies sports data and operational infrastructure to licensed betting operators in Turkey.
Alleged live-odds delay
Prosecutors allege OB used his position to delay live odds data by about seven seconds during sports events, including tennis and volleyball matches. Associates who opened betting accounts were then able to place wagers with knowledge of the actual scores, giving them an unfair advantage.
The alleged manipulation is said to have caused losses for Spordata as well as for the bookmakers that relied on its services. Prosecutors put the combined financial damage at TL12 million.
Communications recovered during the investigation included WhatsApp messages saying, “We will make good money”, “If you play, we will go through the money” and “I am managing the system right now”. The messages contradict OB’s statement to police and prosecutors that he knew nothing about the system and had exchanged no messages about it. OB was detained in July.
Financial investigations
Turkey’s financial crimes unit examined activity linked to OB’s accounts and identified inflows and outflows totalling about TL192 million. Authorities said the movements could be connected to the betting irregularities.
Police operations in Istanbul led to the apprehension of eight additional suspects linked to the alleged scheme. They are facing judicial proceedings alongside OB.
Wider illegal betting crackdown
Separately, Turkish authorities launched a targeted investigation last month into an illegal betting network operating across eight provinces. The Interior Ministry said accounts connected to suspects in that case had shown suspicious activity amounting to TL17.75 billion.
The ministry said enforcement against digital illegal gambling would continue as part of a broader effort to stop criminal proceeds entering the economy through banking and payment systems. Earlier this year, Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi described illegal betting as a “scourge that corrupts society” and called for tougher enforcement.
