Another ring has been added to Turkey’s restriction chain, with the General Directorate of the National Lottery blocking access to the streaming platform Kick.com, which made a rapid entry into the Turkish market.
Kick.com, which made a rapid global breakthrough, was able to attract Amouranth and xQc, two of Twitch’s most popular names, last June. The platform, which also made a quick entry into Turkey, appeared poised to dethrone streaming giant Twitch.
Many well-known Turkish streamers had recently switched to Kick from Twitch, thanks in part to the attractive commissions it offered, and everything appeared to be going well for Kick. That is, until a piece of news broke last week. Rumors suggest that an investigation has been launched regarding some Kick streams. Journalist İbrahim Haskoloğlu shared the news on Twitter with the hashtag #sondakika (breaking news).

However, the General Directorate of the National Lottery quickly confirmed the rumors and banned kick.com on February 20, 2024. The official statement has yet to be issued. According to İbrahim Haskoloğlu’s report, the ban was due to “Kick’s collaboration with international gambling companies and allowing gambling on its platform.” On Twitter, he added: “Turkish officials I spoke to stated that Kick’s entry into Turkey was to attract Turkish youth to roulette.“
Kick’s Mena region manager quickly issued a statement via Twitter, tweeting the following on February 21:
“**ICTA did not request us to remove gambling-related content on Kick. It blocked access to the site without any warning. As Kick, we will RESTRICT the casino section of our site for users connecting from Turkey within 24 hours, upon ICTA’s request.”
@kickTrQ – Twitter (**This is a rough translation of the Turkish tweet.)
The post from the same account on February 22nd was as follows:
“**We have restricted gambling-related streams for users in Turkey as Kick. These streams will no longer be accessible when connecting to Kick from Turkey. We’ve done our part. We are waiting for the ICTA to unblock Kick.“
@kickTrQ – Twitter (**This is a rough translation of the Turkish tweet.)
While these statements confirm the rumors, interesting developments are taking place in Twitch Turkey. Twitch, which raised subscription fees during this update, has removed access to its gambling/casino tab in Turkey.
We’ll see how effective Kick’s actions are and whether Twitch’s precautions have any effect. Until new developments on the subject emerge, be aware of the importance of your online privacy and security, and never let your guard down in the online world!
Goodbye!
News date: 23.2.2024

I’ve been a translator for many years. During this time, geo-restriction has always been the most problematic issue in the many countries I’ve visited. I’m here to tell you about my experience.