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Jordan Lotto

حكم لوتو الأردن

A question about Jordan Lotto, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that it is a new form of the charity lottery and is forbidden gambling. The Department answered that the Lotto is in reality a new format of the so-called charity lottery, and that the idea behind it is to revive the Jordanian charity lottery. It referred to its fatwa no. 1303, which concluded that the charity lottery is forbidden because it rests on gambling and is part of maysir, and that spending its proceeds on charity and the poor does not make it lawful, since the end does not justify the means. It said a ticket buyer buys it hoping for gain and ends up either winning or losing, and concluded that the Lotto is a form of gambling, since a person pays money and is left between gain and loss, which is forbidden in the sharia.

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Summary

A question about Jordan Lotto, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that it is a new form of the charity lottery and is forbidden gambling. 1

The question

The questioner asked for the sharia ruling on Jordan Lotto. 1

The answer

The Department answered that the Lotto is in reality a new format of the so-called charity lottery, and that the idea behind it is to revive the Jordanian charity lottery. 1 It referred to its fatwa no. 1303, which concluded that the charity lottery is forbidden because it rests on gambling and is part of maysir, and that spending its proceeds on charity and the poor does not make it lawful, since the end does not justify the means. 1 It said a ticket buyer buys it hoping for gain and ends up either winning or losing, and concluded that the Lotto is a form of gambling, since a person pays money and is left between gain and loss, which is forbidden in the sharia. 1

About this record

Jordan's General Iftaa Department published this fatwa on aliftaa.jo as no. 3883, dated 30 May 2024. 1 The museum records this text as a historical document attributed to the body or scholar that issued it; it issues no ruling of its own.

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Gambling and games of chance (maysir)· Gambling and speculation in exchanges

People and things also explored

A car raffle at a charity bazaar· A scheme of shared car purchase followed by a draw· Marketing contests with prize coupons inside products· The global financial crisis of 2008 (an Islamic economic reading)· A child eating at an open buffet without paying· A 'wheel of fortune' prize draw· An annual car maintenance subscription· Buying a food ration card at a discount

Sources

  1. Jordan's General Iftaa Department (aliftaa.jo) , fatwa 3883

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Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Jordan Lotto”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/work/fatwa-aliftaa-jo-jordan-lotto/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-01.

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A car raffle at a charity bazaar

A question from a charity that wanted to sell paid coupons for a car raffle to raise a relief bazaar's proceeds, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that the raffle is forbidden as gambling, and proposed instead entry tickets bought as a donation with no draw. The Department answered that competitions in which the participant stands either to gain or to lose money are, in principle, forbidden gambling, which scholars count among the major sins. It said the draw described takes the ruling of forbidden competitions, and the ruling does not change whether the prize comes from the participants' money or is donated by an outside party, nor because the proceeds serve a lawful aim, since the end does not justify the means and every participant either wins or loses. It proposed instead that bazaar entry tickets be offered at a token price, such as a dinar, which people buy as a donation seeking reward rather than gain, with no draw on the tickets. It concluded that organising the draw is forbidden, and advised replacing it with a collection of donations for those in need in Gaza.