Claim That a Seven-Second Delay Cost 12 Million Lira

Prosecutors in Istanbul are pursuing a case against eight suspects accused of manipulating live betting systems. According to the investigation, the manipulation caused losses of 12 million lira to licensed betting companies.

At the center of the investigation is a suspect identified as OB, a data analyst at Spordata, a company that provides sports data and operational infrastructure to licensed betting operators in Turkey. Prosecutors allege that OB knowingly delayed the transmission of live odds by about seven seconds, including for tennis and volleyball matches.

This delay allegedly allowed linked individuals who held accounts with OB to place bets while already knowing the real score of matches, giving them an unfair advantage. The delayed data transmission is said to have harmed both Spordata and the betting operators that use its service.

Messages reported in the local press allegedly show the suspects exchanging WhatsApp messages such as "We will earn good money" and "If you play, we will beat the money." These messages reportedly contradict the suspect's statement to police and prosecutors that he did not know about the system or the messages.

Following these findings, OB was taken into custody in July of this year. Examinations by the Financial Crimes Investigation Unit identified about 192 million lira in incoming and outgoing transactions in accounts linked to OB. Eight more suspects connected to the manipulation were arrested in coordinated police operations in Istanbul, and all of them were referred to court for trial.

The Ministry of Interior also announced that last month it had launched a separate investigation into an illegal betting network operating in eight provinces. The ministry said accounts linked to this network showed suspicious financial activity totaling 17.75 billion lira. The ministry stated that it will continue its efforts against digital illegal betting in order to prevent criminal proceeds from entering the economy through banking and payment systems.