He gave a date for betting operations: A new era is beginning

Tüpraş Stadium in Istanbul hosted a symposium themed 'sports law' organized by the Beşiktaş Lawyers Association. The first part of the symposium addressed the fight against illegal betting in Turkish sports and sectoral challenges.

A NEW ERA BEGINS IN OPERATIONS

Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor Osman Sağlam emphasized that betting operations had been paused, particularly due to the World Cup, and that the end of the league season would pave the way for accelerating this fight. Sağlam stated, "There is the World Cup, and the leagues are about to end. That is why we paused the operations for a while. With the end of the leagues, the operations will continue rapidly."

"THE SOURCE OF THE REAL PROBLEM IN TURKISH SPORTS IS A LACK OF MORALITY"

Sağlam expressed that the operations reveal moral issues rather than just legal ones. In his own words, "These operations are being carried out with such determination and comprehensiveness for the first time. The biggest problem we see in these operations is not a lack of legislation or regulations. The biggest problem is the moral issue in Turkish sports.

We have seen that we are facing a moral problem. The legislation lists what constitutes a crime, and while there are those who are on the fringes of criminal allegations in these operations, there are also athletes and referees who come before us with hundreds of pieces of evidence.

Our country needs to wage this fight to overcome the moral problem.

Athletes are people who get into this business at the age of 8-9 and unfortunately do not go through very professional training. No matter how famous they are, I do not think they are conscious of the ethical values of sports.

We have encountered the defense from athletes saying, 'I did not know this was a crime.' We believe that we have left morality behind in the ambition to make money the easy way.

No matter how heavy the sanctions or how strict the supervision we introduce, I do not think this problem will be easily overcome unless we can fix the moral issue that the athlete must possess," he said.

The symposium also drew attention to the fact that federation and club officials are involved in betting activities. Stating that "No federation or umbrella organization has thought about doing anything regarding this issue concerning their own athletes so far," Sağlam reported that in their research on football, they determined that approximately 500 club officials continued to participate in legal betting games even after the operations, down to the third league. He also stated that administrative sanctions and penalties are often not deterrent enough, and that executives of major clubs are also involved in these activities.

Stating that legal legislation alone is insufficient, Sağlam said, "I do not think this problem will be overcome with legislation and regulations."

THERE IS NO EASY WAY TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM

The Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor stated that they occasionally pause operations, especially due to national team matches, but that the enforcement will continue. "We paused due to national matches, but we will continue the enforcement. The real problem is not a betting problem in Turkish sports, but a moral problem. If you ask how this will be overcome, I cannot offer a suggestion that we can definitely do this.

It is very difficult to solve a problem that everyone is involved in somehow with a prosecutor's investigation or a court decision. I think we have no choice but to instill awareness," he said, expressing that a permanent solution for Turkish sports lies in raising the level of social consciousness and morality.

News Source: 12punto