Launching an operation to fight Internet gambling, police forces raided a building used by a television channel and a betting Web site Wednesday. A “virtual bidding” company's office in Istanbul was raided the same day.
London-based Sportingbet Plc, the Web bookmaker that owns Paradise Poker, said two British-based employees are among those detained in Turkey.
Some individuals related to Superbahis, the company's so-called Turkish facing unit, are being held, London-based Sportingbet said in a Regulatory News Service statement yesterday. Though the company did not identify the individuals, it said they were British-based workers who are Turkish nationals on holiday in the country, according to Bloomberg.
Sportingbet said it continues to trade in Turkey, where it generated about 14 percent of its net gaming revenue in the fiscal third quarter ending April 30. The company is “confident of meeting market expectations” for the fourth quarter, it added.
The police raid also targeted Shopping TV channel, which is reportedly linked with the owners of superbahis.com.
The government introduced a law in February 2007 making it illegal for unauthorized operators to offer bets to citizens, Sportingbet said in October. The company does take wagers from clients in the country, though the operations and servers are based outside Turkey, where it is "unclear" whether any judgment relating to the legislation can be enforced, the bookmaker has said.