Once a gambling problem has taken hold, the safeguards inside the account matter less than the outside contacts you know how to reach. This page is a directory of the specific Turkish and international resources our support team refers players to — the phone number to call, the meeting to attend, and the family-side services that exist for the people around a problem player. Everything below is free, confidential, and independent of this operator.
Reminder before anything else
The 18+ rule is non-negotiable; if the person needing help is under eighteen, the priority is a Green Crescent (Yeşilay) youth helpline first, not a self-exclusion request. For adult account holders, an account-side short break or full self-exclusion can be triggered by a single message to support and takes effect immediately — no reason has to be given.
YEDAM — the primary Turkish helpline
YEDAM (Yeşilay Danışmanlık Merkezi) is Green Crescent's addiction counselling arm. The 115 line is answered by trained counsellors in Turkish, at no charge, day and night. Behavioural addictions — gambling included — sit alongside substance addictions in their remit. The first call is typically a triage conversation: current situation, urgency, any safety concern, and then a hand-off either to an in-person clinic (they operate walk-in centres in most large cities) or to an ongoing telephone counselling relationship. Nothing is reported to any government agency; nothing shows on any employment or credit record.
Adsız Kumarbazlar — Gamblers Anonymous in Turkey
The Turkish chapters of Gamblers Anonymous meet in Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Bursa, Antalya and several smaller cities, and run additional Turkish-language online meetings that people from anywhere in the country can join. The programme is a twelve-step group — free to attend, no membership card, first names only. Newcomers can attend without speaking. Meeting times and Zoom links are listed on the anonimadam.com and gamblersanonymous.org.tr community boards.
Yeşilay Youth line and school programme
For families worried about a teenager, the Yeşilay youth-and-family line runs alongside the 115 adult service and is the appropriate first call when the person concerned is under eighteen. Yeşilay also runs school-side prevention programmes across Turkey, and the parents' team can advise on how to talk to a child about gambling behaviour and how to install device-level blocks.
Family-side resources
The partner, parent or sibling of a problem player is often the person carrying the practical fallout of the pattern — unpaid rent, borrowed money, hidden bank accounts — and family-side help exists for that role specifically. Gam-Anon-style meetings run in parallel to Adsız Kumarbazlar in some cities and online. Yeşilay's family counselling programme is available through the same 115 line: ask specifically for the family programme rather than the addiction counselling programme, and you will be routed to a counsellor whose caseload is oriented toward affected relatives rather than the player themselves.
International backup lines
For Turkish speakers abroad, or for players who prefer contact outside the Turkish networks, the following English-language services are competent to advise on Turkey-side steps: GamCare (UK, 0808 8020 133) offers free counselling in English by phone and web chat; the National Council on Problem Gambling (US, 1-800-522-4700) runs a 24/7 line that also serves overseas callers.
Where the account-side steps meet the outside help
A self-exclusion or a short break makes external support easier to stick with because it removes the "one more spin" temptation while the counselling conversation is still fresh. The order most players find useful is: contact YEDAM first, agree an initial plan, then request the exclusion the same day so the two decisions reinforce each other. Records of every account-side restriction are retained per the Privacy Policy; broader account-closure procedures live on the Terms and Conditions page.