Once upon a time, casinos were free in our country. They were not undercover as in the Kolpaçino movie or in the Valley of the Wolves, the casino could be opened with the approval of the state. But casinos were banned due to many events in the late 90s.
Casinos that entered Turkey since the 1980s were mostly opened in hotels in the Mediterranean and Aegean Regions. The biggest reason for choosing these regions was their proximity to the Arabian Peninsula and Israel. In other words, tourists will be attracted to the country from that region and thus hot money flow would be provided.
This was the main reason why casinos were allowed to open in our country. It was a desire for economic relief thanks to the foreign exchange inflow. Desired, beautiful income source had opened. At first, only tourists were allowed to gamble, but with the decision of the Constitutional Court, Turkish citizens were also allowed to play.
From that moment on, things started to get out of hand and this is where the movie broke.
Because not only the rich, but also the middle-income and even the citizens who do not have a situation, but who think that maybe they can win with their last money, started to gamble. lots of people, He fell into debt and families broke up.
With a passion for making easy money, casinos have spread all over the country.
In the late 90s, the increasing news of suicides, unsolved murders and money laundering After the events, voices began to rise in the backstage of politics against casinos. News and documentaries were made about casinos that did not fall off the agenda.
However, the prime minister of the time, Turgut Özal, saw the increase in the number of gamblers as a sign of wealth.
The prime minister, who said, “He who has no money, does not gamble,” was in a way intending to stave off the increasing pressures. because to Turkey, which has just come out of the crisis. cash flow was required. One of the best ways to achieve this was tourism, and the easiest way to attract tourists to the country was casinos.
Discussions about casinos, which have been at the top of the agenda of the whole country since the first day it was opened, continued until the end of the 90s. In 1996, when king of casinos The expected end came with the murder of Ömer Lütfü Topal, known as
The casinos, which are already known for many situations such as money laundering, heroin trade and aiding terrorism, have started to attract the public’s reaction.
The government of Necmettin Erbakan, who took over from Özal; published in a circular, in newspapers and among the public. ‘one-armed monster’ decided to cease the operation of the casinos, which are called
It was not just the events that took place in making this decision.
According to the statement made at the time, the casinos do not make a profit, as they say, they make a loss and did not pay taxes.
Kemalettin Göktaş, one of the deputies of the period, explained the issue in the parliament with the following words: Unfortunately, the owners of the casinos, who rented around 100 billion liras, did not pay any taxes by showing damage. I say this for; unfortunately for our country, economically as well. made no definite contribution.
It took about a year for the decision taken in 1996 to become law.
Meanwhile, the discussions were going on, because about the people working in the casinos. 20 thousand people would be unemployed. In addition, casino owners said that the number of tourists coming to the country would decrease. They were not wrong because after the casinos closed, the number of tourists coming to our country has decreased.
casino operators; moved its venues to countries such as Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Greece, where there was almost a tourism boom. Under the controversy, the casinos definitively closed in 1997. On February 11, 1998, after the 6-month period given for the closure of the venues. The door of the last casino has been sealed And an era has come to an end in our country.
Speaking of casinos in Turkey, let’s remember our legendary couple.
Do you think the casinos, which were once an important source of income in Turkey, should be reopened? Do not forget to express your thoughts in the comments.
Resources: Enver Kahvecioğlu, Parliamentary Minutes, Hürriyet