Question about a Muslim’s reasoning for playing paid fantasy football - need advice
Assalamu Alaikum everyone, hope you're all well. This is a bit of a long story so please bear with me. For those who don’t know, fantasy football is a game where you draft real American football players, score points from their stats, and compete against other people’s teams. I used to play casually with friends from the community, but many drifted away so I stopped. This past August my best friend of 8 years (non-Muslim; I’ll call him Steve) invited me to join his new group from work. I was interested until I learned they were playing for money. I had talked to Steve before about Islamic views on gambling and playing for money and reminded him. He apologized for forgetting and for any offense. I told him it was fine and that I appreciated being thought of. Steve offered to ask his friends not to play for money or to cover my buy-in so I could play without paying, but I politely declined and thanked him. A few weeks ago Steve hosted a playoff watch party and invited some coworkers from the league. They were friendly, and I really connected with one guy (call him Tom). Tom asked why I didn’t join the league and I explained my religious stance. He seemed surprised and said he once had a Muslim coworker who played fantasy for money. He named the guy Ahmed and said Ahmed grew up in an Arab country. I joked, “you sure you’re not making him up to get me to join next season?” and we laughed. Later Tom showed me Ahmed’s LinkedIn as “proof.” I was a little relieved he wasn’t made up and we moved on. Yesterday Steve told me Tom ran into Ahmed and asked him about playing for money. Ahmed’s explanation, according to Tom, was that he treats it like an arcade: he pays to play for fun, and if he wins he doesn’t keep the money as personal gain but donates it to the masjid or charity. So in his view it’s not really gambling because the winnings aren’t kept. I have mixed feelings. I understand the arcade/entry-fee idea - I’ve paid to play in arcades and community tournaments before - so I get why someone might see it that way. But it feels incomplete to me: Ahmed seems to focus on the case when he wins, not the case when he loses. Losing means he’s still paid money to play. Does that make it religiously acceptable just because winners give their money away? I’m not sure. Also, I’ve only heard this from Tom, so it’s second- or thirdhand. I don’t fully trust the accuracy, but it got me thinking, which is why I’m asking you. This is the end of my conversation with them - I don’t plan to reopen it - but I’d appreciate your perspectives on Ahmed’s reasoning. What do you agree or disagree with? JazakAllah Khair for reading.