Foursquare, the popular location-based platform that lets businesses interact with their customers, also acts as a key to venues running illegal gambling. It's possible to find the location of these venues on Foursquare using keywords like "casino" and "kumar" (gambling).

As with any other business on the platform, these gambling dens have visible address details, but they're either protected by private security or disguised as shisha cafés. A "check-in" effectively works as your entry ticket to these places!

Those who don't check in can't get into these venues, which are set up like flats or private clubs. In neighbourhoods like Cihangir, Nişantaşı, Okmeydanı and Aksaray in Istanbul, getting into a gambling venue takes more than a check-in — you go through a series of checks as well. Anyone wanting to enter these venues, which are mostly active at night, may be asked whether they've been before. They can afford to take these kinds of precautions because they're mainly trying to build up their own regular circle of players.

The reviews left for these gambling venues on Foursquare make for interesting reading! Some users ask the venue's owners what times and which games are running, while others express their views with comments like "good service, quality whisky, fast gambling," "good poker players come here," "can I get some information about the cash games?" and "you took a lot of my money."

As these platforms have taken up a bigger place in everyday life, illegal activity on social networks has grown too. To curb the rise in drug adverts and sales, Instagram had previously blocked searches for certain words.