Türkiye has written digital gaming into statute for the first time. Law No. 7578, published in the Official Gazette on 1 May 2026, adds a games-specific layer to Law No. 5651, the internet law: definitions, platform obligations and a tiered sanctions regime. The rules take effect on 1 November 2026, and what studios, publishers and platforms do in the intervening months will decide how the first enforcement wave goes.
Who does the law now recognise?
The amendment starts by settling the vocabulary. Four definitions enter the law: game for digital games distributed or updated over the internet; game developer for those who design and build the game or its content; game distributor for those coordinating sales channels, licence keys and digital rights management; and game platform for those providing the infrastructure on which games are displayed, sold, downloaded or played. The distinction matters because the weight of the new obligations falls on platforms; developers and distributors remain at the definition level for now, though the BTK regulation to come is expected to sharpen the roles.
The platform checklist
| Obligation | Substance |
|---|---|
| Age rating | Unrated games cannot be offered; the platform removes them or classifies them at the highest age category |
| Türkiye representative | Foreign platforms with daily access from Türkiye above 100,000 must appoint a representative, notify the BTK and publish the details on their site |
| Parental controls | Clear parental controls over account settings, with parental approval available for purchases, rentals and paid memberships |
| Information requests | BTK requests on corporate structure, IT systems and data processing answered within at most 15 days |
The sanctions ladder
The regime is deliberately stepped. The BTK first serves a notice; if compliance does not follow within 30 days, a fine of TRY 1 to 10 million applies, and a second fine of TRY 10 to 30 million if the breach continues. After that, the authority can ask a criminal judgeship of peace to throttle bandwidth by 30 percent, then by up to 50 percent. The clever part is the incentive to comply late: once the obligation is fulfilled, only a quarter of the fines is collected and throttling orders lapse automatically. The arithmetic is plain enough; resisting is expensive, turning back is cheap.
What comes next
Two developments will shape the calendar. The first is the BTK regulation that will set the rating methodology and the detail of platform obligations, expected before the rules bite. The second is the bill submitted to Parliament on 3 July, which would transfer the supervision, fining and throttling powers under Law No. 5651 from the BTK to the Cybersecurity Presidency; if it passes, gaming platforms will change regulator while the regime is still settling. For the sector’s wider legal map, see our gaming law guide.
Are Turkish studios caught by these rules?
The weight rests on platforms; a studio shipping its game on Steam or a similar storefront is not the direct addressee of the representative or parental control duties. Two indirect effects still land: since platforms must remove or top-rate unrated games, ratings become a visibility issue, and platform agreements will inevitably grow new clauses passing these obligations down the chain.
How will the 100,000 access threshold be measured?
The statute speaks of daily access and leaves the measurement method to the BTK regulation. Judging by the practice on the social network side, access may be read broadly rather than as unique visitors; platforms near the line should start tracking the metric on their own data now.
Where to start
If you run a platform, four workstreams can begin today: an inventory of unrated games in the catalogue, a shortlist for the representative role, the design of the parental control flow, and an internal process able to answer BTK requests within 15 days. If you are a studio or publisher, your work is in the contracts: read the rating, takedown and information-sharing clauses of your platform agreements against this regime before 1 November.
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