New Gaming Law In Turkey: What Foreign Gaming Platforms Must Know
On 21 April 2026, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey adopted a sweeping amendment to Law No. 5651 on the Regulation of Internet Publications. The amendment, enacted as part of Law No. 7578 — extends to digital gaming platforms the same representative appointment obligations that have applied to social media giants since 2020. As of today, the law is awaiting the Presidential signature before publication in the Official Gazette.
The Core Obligation Of Foreign Gaming Platforms Operating In Turkey
Article 23 of Law No. 7578 introduces a new Supplementary Article 5 into Law No. 5651 as follows.
“ARTICLE 23—The following additional article has been added to Law No. 5651.
“SUPPLEMENTARY ARTICLE 5
(1) A gaming platform may not offer games that have not been duly rated. However, it may offer unrated games on the condition that it rates them according to the highest age criterion. A gaming platform is obliged to remove content that has not been duly rated, without prejudice to the responsibilities and obligations arising from its status as a content or hosting provider.
(2) A foreign-sourced gaming platform with more than one hundred thousand daily users from Turkey is obliged to designate a natural or legal person representative in Turkey in order to ensure compliance with notifications, communications or requests to be sent by the Authority, the Association, or judicial or administrative bodies, and with other obligations under this Law, and to notify the Authority of the details of such representative. The gaming platform shall include the contact details of the representative on its website in a manner that is easily visible and directly accessible.
(3) A gaming platform shall provide parental control tools that are clear, understandable and easy to use. Parental control tools shall include mechanisms relating to:
(a) the management of account settings;
(b) making purchases, rentals and paid subscriptions subject to parental permission or approval.
(4) The Authority may request from a gaming platform explanations directly related to the implementation of this Law, including those concerning its corporate structure, information systems and data processing mechanisms, for the purpose of assessing the platform’s compliance with this Law. The gaming platform is obliged to provide the information and documents requested by the Authority immediately and within a period not exceeding fifteen days as determined by the Authority.
(5) The procedures and principles regarding the implementation of this article, the obligations to be complied with by gaming platforms, and the rating according to age criteria shall be determined by a regulation issued by the Authority.
(6) The Authority shall notify a gaming platform that fails to fulfil the obligations set out in this article or in the regulation issued by the Authority. If the obligation subject to notification is not fulfilled within thirty days of the notification, the President may impose an administrative fine of between one million Turkish liras and ten million Turkish liras on the gaming platform. If the obligation subject to notification is not fulfilled within thirty days of the service of the administrative fine, a further administrative fine of between ten million Turkish liras and thirty million Turkish liras may be imposed once. The amount of the administrative fine shall be determined by taking into account the nature, severity, impact on users or the damage caused by the breach.
(7) If the obligation subject to notification is not fulfilled within thirty days of the service of the second administrative fine, the President may apply to the criminal court of peace for a reduction of the gaming platform’s internet traffic bandwidth by thirty percent. If the obligation subject to notification is not fulfilled within thirty days of the implementation of the court decision accepting such application, the President may apply to the criminal court of peace for a reduction of the gaming platform’s internet traffic bandwidth by up to fifty percent. In its decision on the second application, the court may set a lower rate, provided that it is not less than thirty percent, by also taking into account the nature of the service provided. The President may appeal against these decisions pursuant to the provisions of Law No. 5271. Court decisions shall be sent to the Authority for notification to access providers. The decisions shall be implemented by access providers immediately and within no more than four hours of notification. If the obligation subject to notification is fulfilled, one quarter of the administrative fines imposed shall be collected and court decisions shall automatically become null and void. The Authority shall notify access providers of the termination of the intervention in the internet traffic bandwidth.””
According to the above article of the law, gaming platforms will be required to offer only games that have been properly rated; games without a rating will either be removed or automatically classified as 18+. Second, foreign gaming platforms with more than 100,000 daily users in Turkey are required to appoint a representative in Turkey registered with the BTK, similar to social media platforms. Third, platforms are required to provide tools that allow parents to manage account settings and require approval for paid transactions.
The BTK may request any information or documents from the platform as part of compliance audits. Platforms are required to respond to these requests within 15 days.
Gaming platforms that fail to comply with the obligations outlined here will first face a fine of 1–10 million TL, followed by a fine of 10–30 million TL, and subsequently face bandwidth reduction penalties of 30% and 50%. If compliance is achieved, only one-fourth of the fines will be collected, and the bandwidth reduction decisions will be automatically lifted.
Under Turkish law, pursuant pursuant to the amendments made to Law No. 5651 by Law No. 7253, social media platforms are also required to appoint a representative in Turkey. However, the aforementioned law, as applied to social media platforms, treated the failure to appoint a representative separately from other obligations, subjecting it to a more severe and specific penalty regime. This distinction was not made for gaming platforms; all types of violations are grouped under a single penalty framework.
Who Does the Law Apply To?
Before setting out the obligations imposed on gaming platforms, it is necessary to understand the scope of the law. Article 21 of Law No. 7578 introduces four new definitions into Article 2 of Law No. 5651:
“(ş) Game: Digital games that are distributed or updated via the internet and can be played online or offline in an electronic environment,
(t) Game distributor: Natural or legal persons that, for the purpose of delivering digital games produced or published by a content provider to end users, manage relationships with sales channels, coordinate the production and management of licence keys, use digital rights management systems and provide financial or technical intermediary services in this process,
(u) Game developer: Natural or legal persons that design a digital game or game content, develop the software thereof, or manage the development process,
(ü) Gaming platform: Natural or legal persons that provide software or technical infrastructure for the display, sale, distribution, downloading or playing of digital games and related additional content via the internet, and that enable or coordinate users’ access to games or content, licence management or interaction between users,”
The obligations set out in Supplementary Article 5 apply directly to gaming platforms as defined above. Game distributors and game developers are not subject to the representative appointment obligation; however, they remain subject to the general obligations under Law No. 5651 in their respective capacities.
What The Representative Of Foreign-Sourced Gaming Platform Must Do
The designated representative of a foreign gaming platform in Turkey serves as the platform’s official point of contact for Turkish authorities. In practice, this means receiving and acting on take-down requests, responding to data inquiries, and ensuring the platform meets its content classification and parental control obligations, all within strict statutory deadlines.
Key Obligations Of Foreign-Sourced Gaming Platforms’ Representatives In Turkey
- Register the representative with BTK and publish contact details on the platform website.
- Ensure games are age-rated; unrated content must default to the highest age category (18+).
- Provide accessible parental control tools, including spending controls and screen-time management.
- Respond to BTK information requests within 15 days.
- Act on official notifications within 30 days to avoid escalating sanctions.
What Are the Penalties for Gaming Platforms Under Turkish Law
Non-compliance triggers a graduated penalty framework. Platforms that fail to act within 30 days of a BTK notification face administrative fines of between TRY 1 million and TRY 10 million. A second notice and continued inaction can result in a further fine of up to TRY 30 million. Should the platform still fail to comply, BTK may apply to a criminal court of peace for bandwidth throttling — initially at 30%, rising to 50%. Importantly, a platform that achieves compliance at any stage pays only one quarter of the total fines imposed, and all throttling orders are automatically lifted.
How to Comply with Turkey’s New Gaming Law: Deadlines and Next Steps
The aformentioned law is expected to be published in the Official Gazette shortly after Presidential approval. In accordance with Article 27 of the aforequoted law No. 7578, the provisions relating to Law No. 5651 will then enter into force six months after publication, giving platforms a compliance window to appoint their representative, register with BTK, and implement the required technical measures. Detailed procedural rules will be set out in a secondary regulation to be issued by BTK.
Foreign gaming companies operating in the Turkish market should begin their compliance planning now. The six-month window may appear generous, but identifying a suitable representative, completing registration, and reviewing content classification arrangements across a game library takes time.
How Can We Assist You?
If your platform serves Turkish users and you would like to understand your obligations under the new law, we would be pleased to assist.
Viridis Legal Partners advises foreign gaming companies on Turkish internet law and regulatory compliance.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Turkey’s new gaming law?
On 21 April 2026, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey adopted Law No. 7578, which amends Law No. 5651 on the Regulation of Internet Publications. The amendment introduces, for the first time, a comprehensive legal framework for digital gaming platforms operating in Turkey.
Who does the law apply to?
The law applies to gaming platforms as defined under Article 21 of Law No. 5651. A gaming platform is any natural or legal person that provides software or technical infrastructure for the display, sale, distribution, downloading or playing of digital games via the internet. The representative appointment obligation applies specifically to foreign-sourced gaming platforms with more than 100,000 daily users from Turkey.
What is a gaming platform required to do under the new law?
A gaming platform must appoint a representative in Turkey and register that representative with BTK, offer only properly rated games or classify unrated games as 18+, provide parental control tools covering account management and approval of paid transactions, and respond to BTK information requests within 15 days.
Does the law apply to game developers and distributors as well?
Game developers and distributors are not subject to the representative appointment obligation. However, they remain subject to the general obligations under Law No. 5651 in their respective capacities.
What is the role of the representative?
The representative serves as the platform’s official point of contact for Turkish authorities, including BTK, judicial and administrative bodies. The representative is responsible for receiving and acting on notifications, take-down requests and data inquiries, and for ensuring the platform’s compliance with all obligations under the law within the applicable deadlines.
Does the representative have to be a lawyer?
The law does not require the representative to be a lawyer. However, given that the role involves handling legally binding notifications, court-issued orders and regulatory correspondence under strict deadlines, engaging a qualified Turkish attorney provides a meaningful layer of protection and legal oversight.
What happens if a gaming platform does not comply?
Non-compliance triggers a graduated penalty framework. Following a BTK notification and a 30-day grace period, the platform may face an administrative fine of between TRY 1 million and TRY 10 million. Continued non-compliance may result in a further fine of between TRY 10 million and TRY 30 million. If the platform still fails to comply, BTK may apply to a criminal court of peace for bandwidth throttling of 30%, rising to 50%. A platform that achieves compliance at any stage pays only one quarter of the total fines imposed and all throttling orders are automatically lifted.
Is the penalty for failing to appoint a representative different from other violations?
No. Unlike the regime applicable to social media platforms under Law No. 7253, which treated the failure to appoint a representative as a separate and more severe category of breach, the new gaming law groups all violations under a single penalty framework. There is no specific or aggravated sanction for failing to appoint a representative.
How are games required to be rated?
The law requires games to be rated according to age criteria. Unrated games may not be offered on the platform unless they are classified under the highest age category. The detailed procedures and criteria for age rating will be set out in a secondary regulation to be issued by BTK. Until that regulation is published, the specific rating methodology remains to be determined.
When does the law enter into force?
The law is awaiting Presidential signature before publication in the Official Gazette. In accordance with Article 27 of Law No. 7578, the provisions relating to Law No. 5651 will enter into force six months after publication. Foreign gaming platforms should begin their compliance planning immediately, as appointing a representative, completing BTK registration and reviewing content classification across a game library takes time.
