Ban on table football lifted in Turkey

ANKARA

A ban on table football in Turkey has been lifted following a decision by the Constitutional Court, according to a notice issued by the Customs and Trade Ministry. 

The ban on the game, which is known as “langırt” in Turkish, was removed as of Jan. 13, after it was removed from the list of “gambling tools” that are not permitted to enter free circulation. The Constitutional Court ruled that it “does not interrupt work and family order and improves brain health.”

Table football had been placed on a list of games banned from free circulation alongside roulette and pinball, which remain banned in Turkey.

The Constitutional Court revoked the provision of a law prohibiting the carrying, operating and producing of table football, as well as bringing it into the country. 

In its ruling, the court described table football as a game based on physical skills. It stated that electronic games, tools and machines that enhance knowledge and skills and improve brain health are widely used by adults and young people for entertainment purposes. 

The number of such games has “increased with the development of technology in democratic societies,” it added. 

The court also noted that gambling should be reregulated as a personal mistake by users, rather than a crime.