Turkey Passes New Law Regulating Gaming Platforms Like Steam and Epic Games Store

Turkey (or Turkiye) has officially passed a new law that sets regulatory requirements for major digital gaming platforms operating in the country.

The law targets any foreign digital gaming platform with more than 100,000 daily active users in Turkey. So yes, big names like Steam, Epic Games Store, and PlayStation are all in scope here.

Here is what the law requires from platforms:

• Platforms must appoint a local representative in Turkey and register them with the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK). Opening a physical office is not required.

• All games must display proper age ratings. If a game lacks one, it will automatically be assigned an 18+ rating.

• Platforms must offer clear, user-friendly parental control tools.

• Platforms may be required to share certain compliance-related data with authorities, including corporate structure and data processing information.

It is worth noting that the law places no obligations on individual game developers or publishers. The responsibilities fall entirely on platform operators who cross the daily user threshold.

As for penalties, non-compliance follows a stepped process:

• First, a formal warning is issued with a 30-day window to fix the issue.

• After that, fines ranging from roughly $20,000 to $200,000 are applied, followed by another 30-day notice.

• A second failure brings fines between $200,000 and $650,000.

• If issues persist, traffic throttling kicks in, starting at 30% and escalating to between 30% and 50%.

• Platforms that come into compliance at any stage are eligible to pay just one quarter of the applicable fines.

The original draft of the bill was considerably harsher. According to reports, earlier versions included mandatory playtime limits, a complete ban on unrated games, compulsory data-sharing with the government, and the authority to fully block non-compliant platforms. Most of those proposals were walked back after pushback from the industry, gamers, and opposition members.

The Turkish gaming association TOGED played a key role in pushing for those changes. As per their statement, "We have ensured the passage of a law that we believe our industry can adapt to, implement, and that will not obstruct its healthy long-term development. The vast majority of the demands we have publicly voiced to date have been accepted."

The finer operational details, such as how the age classification framework will actually work in practice, are yet to be defined. Those specifics will come through secondary legislation to be issued by the BTK in the months ahead.

This gaming regulation is part of a broader legislative push in Turkey. The same bill also introduced strict social media rules, including a ban on social media for children under 15, along with age verification requirements. Social media platforms got a noticeably harder deal compared to gaming platforms, facing tighter content removal deadlines, mandatory data sharing, and heavier penalties overall.

While the law has been passed, it has not yet come into full effect. Once it does, platforms will have six months to meet the new requirements.