MAGAZINE: EDITION OCTOBER 2025
Sinwan Basharat – CanadaContemporary and Social Issues
20th November 2025
© Shutterstock
Sinwan Basharat, Ottawa, Canada
New technologies and digital platforms are reshaping and growing the global gambling industry. Now, health experts are raising alarms that highly addictive gambling technologies are causing a hidden epidemic. We take a look at the latest research about the effects of gambling, its history in society, and how the teachings of Islam provide policy solutions that protect individuals and societies from its catastrophic harms.
A few years ago, the world’s most influential public health journal, The Lancet, launched a commission to examine the health-related harms of gambling[1]. In the commission’s inaugural issue, the journal stated that the inquiry was in response to the ‘urgent, neglected, understudied, and worsening public health predicament’ of gambling.1Unlike drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, where there is a large body of research warning about their pervasive effects and strong measures to reduce their access, gambling has remained an oddity among policymakers, traditionally receiving relatively less attention.[2]
Many governments not only underestimate its impact, but are increasingly facilitating the growth of gambling-based ventures and removing regulations that expand access to new ‘customers’. Renewed efforts by The Lancet and some health experts are trying to advocate for change. They are emphasising a need to better understand the adverse effects of gambling, develop policies that restrict access, and highlight the damage it poses to society.[3]
While the voices of a few researchers grow louder, alerting the world about the harms of gambling, fourteen centuries ago, these forewarnings were revealed to the Holy Prophet of Islam (sa). In contrast to other religions, Islam categorically condemns all forms of gambling and states that it poses much greater harms than benefits.[4] But what is the root of gambling? Has it always carried such detriment, and how has it evolved over the millennia?
Gambling and its Origins
Gambling refers to many different activities that can be examined from a social, historical, and economic lens. However, at its core, it describes financial transactions that are based on a substantial element of risk and are determined largely by chance, speculation, and uncertain outcomes.[5] Gambling has traditionally been associated with entertainment and recreation, but today makes up a significant and increasing part of the global economy. Market estimates suggest that gambling accounts for more than 700 billion US dollars annually in the global economy. That would come out to roughly one-fifth of the entire UK economy.[6]
Gambling has existed for centuries and has been practised across the world in different forms. Archaeologists have unearthed gaming sticks dating back several thousand years, and one of the earliest known dice from the Neolithic period dates back to approximately 3,000 BCE.[7] Historians consider that many gambling activities were intertwined with fortune-telling in many early civilisations.[8] By casting marked sticks or other objects, soothsayers would claim to interpret people’s lives and inform them of their future.[9]
In some cultural traditions, gambling was linked with the concepts of idols. For example, Greek mythology states that the lordships of the heavens and earth were decided by a game of dice, which resulted in Zeus being made the lord of the sky, Hades the lord of the underworld, and Poseidon the lord of the sea.[10] Among certain Indigenous communities of North America, winning gambling contests was thought to be a sign of special spiritual powers.[11]
Prior to Islam, gambling was practised at different levels of society in Arabia.[12] Gambling-related board games – such as backgammon – casting lots, and sports wagering were common forms of recreation among some people.[13] A particular type of gambling game known as Maisar was popular within pre-Islamic Arabia, and involved drawing arrows from an empty drum. Arrows were designated different shares of a camel and were placed in a drum along with blank arrows representing no value. People playing the game would randomly select an arrow and would draw their share. Those who drew arrows with no value were the ‘unlucky’ ones who had to pay for the camel, yet they would receive no meat for themselves (albeit this gambling method did take on other forms).[14] During wars, Arabs also used similar forms of gambling to determine who would incur the costs of feeding the army and bearing certain expenses of a war.[15]
Modern Forms of Gambling
Modern gambling, characterised by card games, casinos (originally known as gambling houses), and sports betting, developed in Europe from the 15th century onwards.[16] Today, gambling is highly prevalent across the world. Slot machines, scratch card lotteries, and sports betting are only a handful of ways people participate in gambling. In Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, surveys report that between 45% to 60% of people participate in some form of gambling.[17, 18, 19] Last year in the US alone, commercial gaming revenue (total bets minus payout) reached 72 billion dollars, setting a record for the fourth year in a row.[20] That amount is nearly what Americans spent on attending sporting events, going to the cinema, and purchasing music, combined. However, casinos are merely the tip of the iceberg – new technologies and sophisticated software are re-shaping the gambling industry.
Experts warn that the rapid expansion of the new digital and online gambling industry, along with its close collaborations with financial institutions, social media, and professional sports, is making gambling more accessible and addictive than ever before.[21] Mobile apps provide companies unparalleled access to users’ data, enticing them based on their unique interests (for example, favourite sports teams), tailored marketing, and gamification algorithms to keep them gambling.[22] An audit of leading apps showed that gambling apps use many deceptive tactics, such as easy sign-up practices without age verification, strategically placed so-called ‘free bets’, prompts for new bets as soon as a transaction is completed, and targeted push notifications, among other tactics to attract users and then keep them hooked.[23]
Moreover, unlike gambling activities that occurred in the recent past at casinos or gambling houses, the fact that this new era of gambling is at people’s fingertips exposes particularly young people to the thralls of addiction. In some US states, it’s estimated that more than 1 in 3 young adults (ages 18 to 24) gamble online, a rate more than 5 times that of any other age group.[24] Sports betting ads and apps are nearly unavoidable during sporting events and highlight videos, often with leading athletes as spokespeople, enticing young people to follow their favourite athletes and download their apps.
In many countries, gambling activities are not only legitimised by law, but are also operated by government agencies as a means to generate revenue.[25] Proponents for such publicly operated gambling ventures often attest that the increase in tax revenue can help fund different public activities.[2] However, most researchers acknowledge that conducting an accurate cost-benefits analysis of gambling is a complex process that requires assessing the wider social, health, and economic effects of gambling on individuals and society.[27, 28] While researchers look to find such answers and assess the comprehensive impact of gambling, more than fourteen centuries ago, Islam provided a bold verdict about the true the costs and benefits of gambling.
Islam’s Stance on Gambling
The Holy Qur’an takes an objective approach in determining the permissibility of various behaviours and practices. Regarding gambling, it states:
‘They ask thee concerning wine and the game of hazard. Say: “In both there is great sin and also some advantages for men; but their sin is greater than their advantage.”’[29]
In the commentary to this verse, the Second Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad (ra), has explained that the Holy Qur’an does not simply forbid gambling without reasoning;[30] it takes a balanced approach, where it acknowledges that there could be some benefits to gambling. However, because the harms are stated to be far greater, therefore gambling has been forbidden to protect individuals and society from harm.[31]
From an Islamic economics perspective, gambling poses unique disadvantages to society, as it is essentially based on a ‘zero-sum’ game. One party may win, but it is at the expense of others.[32] There is no real generation of wealth or goods; rather, gambling fundamentally results in a transfer of wealth from one party to another, based on some element of uncertainty. There may be one party that gains, but all others lose. In contrast, permissible financial transactions have a distinction where one party may gain wealth, but the other may also gain some good or service.
Moreover, in another place, the Holy Qur’an states:
‘O ye who believe! wine and the game of hazard and idols and divining arrows are only an abomination of Satan’s handiwork. So shun each one of them that you may prosper. Satan desires only to create enmity and hatred among you by means of wine and the game of hazard, and to keep you back from the remembrance of Allah and from Prayer. But will you keep back?’[33]
In these verses, gambling has been termed rijs, meaning abomination, something that is filthy, or something that is disliked for its uncleanliness.[34] The verses suggest that some of the harms associated with gambling are linked with disrupting relationships between people and contributing disorder to society. If one person wins at the expense of others, the situation naturally creates animosity, rancour, and resentment. Gambling can also become addictive, due to which the constant distraction can take a person away from anything remotely beneficial to their life. In essence, the Holy Qur’an provides a stark warning that gambling can negatively affect both individuals and society.
The Holy Qur’an’s stance on gambling is bold and an illustrative example of the rationale behind Islam’s teachings about why certain acts, behaviours, and things are forbidden. If something has more harm than good, either for individuals or for humanity at large, God has forbidden it in order to maintain peace.[35] The Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (ra), explains this underlying rationale:§
‘God Almighty, keeping in view the nature of humans, has further defined sin as those acts which, through their finer implications, prove to be harmful for mankind, even though a person may not sometimes be able to appreciate their harms.’[36]
In other religions, particularly Christianity, although ‘greed’ and ‘love of money’ are disdained in the Bible, there is little outright condemnation of the practice of gambling.[37] It is a unique distinction of Islam that gambling is condemned in the strongest terms.[38] While fourteen centuries ago, the Holy Qur’an’s prophetic warning about gambling may not have been fully appreciated among all Muslims, there is a growing body of evidence reaffirming the stance of the Holy Qur’an and showing that gambling brings devastating effects. In particular, there is mounting evidence from fundamental biology to public health, indicating the catastrophic health effects of gambling.
Effects on the Brain
Part of the reason why gambling has received relatively less attention compared to other addictions is because health professionals did not view gambling or gambling addiction as a serious health concern. [39] The clinical diagnosis of ‘pathological gambling’, referring to gambling behaviour that results in a severe loss of control with consequences to a person’s life, social status, and financial well-being, was only introduced into clinical guidelines in the 1980s.[40] Since then, researchers and clinicians have realised that gambling addiction was far more consequential than a behavioural flaw, and was actually severely affecting people’s neurobiology and disrupting their psychological well-being in many of the same ways as severe drug addictions.[41]
Today, a growing body of clinical research shows that people with pathological gambling can present with severe structural and functional brain impairments. [42] Imaging studies reveal that people affected by gambling may have significant changes within neural pathways associated with emotional processing and decision making.[43] These changes can disrupt the brain’s sensitivity to rewards and enjoyment. Gambling addiction has been shown to be associated with overstimulation of dopamine (a critical ‘reward’ chemical in the brain), inciting people to seek riskier thrills related to gambling, and also other harmful substances.[44] Losing a bet or game can often create more of a thrill for a person with an addiction, exposing them to take on more risk to try and win back what they lost. In a similar mechanism to drug addictions, people with pathological gambling may be disposed to seek stronger stimuli or ‘fixes’. These biological changes can further propel addictions and expose victims to greater harm, preventing them from overcoming their addiction.[45]
Impact on Health and Well-being
Population-based surveys have reported in recent years that people with pathological gambling are three times more likely to report poor overall health compared to the general population.[46] They are also significantly more likely to be diagnosed with heart and liver diseases, with nearly half of them possibly having another mental health disorder.[47, 48] A systematic review (a compilation of multiple research studies) showed that more than half of those who pathologically gamble (57.5%) are likely to have other substance abuse disorders, which may include addictions to smoking, alcohol, or drugs.[49] In this way, gambling can expose people to seek other harmful pursuits, creating a cycle of self-destruction and addiction.
Risk of Suicide
Another terrifying harm of gambling addictions is that it might be one of the leading drivers of suicide. Analysis from a national survey from Canada showed that people who engaged in high-risk gambling were significantly more likely to have attempted suicide than the general population.[50] Evidence from Sweden showed that 50% of people who had both a gambling addiction and an alcohol or substance use disorder attempted suicide at least once over the study period.[51]
In 2021, the largest study examining the effects of gambling on suicide risk among young adults, showed that young people who engaged in a spectrum of gambling behaviour, whether it be low, moderate, or pathological levels, all showed significantly higher rates of having suicide-related thoughts.[52] Most strikingly, young people with pathological gambling were 8-12 times more likely to have attempted suicide in the past year than young people who did not engage in any gambling.[53] Considering that new technological platforms, such as online sports betting and gambling, are disproportionally targeted towards young people, it ought to raise strong alarms about the true dangers of gambling.
The Need for an Alternative Framing of Gambling
Based on the emerging clinical, social, and health evidence that gambling is likely having a devastating impact on society, there is a need for an urgent change. Researchers are urging governments to recognise that support programs or clinical care for people already at the brink of illness is an insufficient and inadequate response.[54]
Now, experts in the field are actively advocating for governments to abandon promoting a false notion of ‘responsible gambling’, which obviously downplays the severe impact of gambling on society.[55] Rather than interventions focused on treating pathological gambling, researchers are emphasising the need for a public health approach – a holistic approach that focuses on preventing the proliferation of gambling activities, restricting its accessibility, limiting advertising, and legislating strict measures to reduce its uptake.[56, 57]
Islam’s Teachings Continue to Prevail
It is remarkable that whilst 21st-century researchers are beginning to contest and urge governments to take bolder action in reducing gambling, more than fourteen centuries ago, Islam had warned about its harms and devastating effects. Islam’s bold and resounding restriction against gambling indicates profound wisdom behind its teachings. As emerging evidence has shown, gambling across its continuum poses substantial harms for society. The disruption to relationships, the dire impact on a person’s well-being, and the worrying effects on the brain place a huge burden on individuals and society.
The Islamic philosophy about sin and its rationale are also well-illustrated with the prohibition against gambling. The Holy Qur’an recognises that, although there may be some benefits, its harms far exceed any benefits and therefore must all together be avoided. Solving the growing crisis of gambling afflicting many countries will require a drastic change in discourse and the public narrative; a narrative that ultimately adopts a perspective based on the teachings of Islam and the prophetic wisdom of the Holy Qur’an.
About the Author: Sinwan Basharat is a researcher with a background in molecular genetics and epidemiology. He works for a research agency in Ottawa, Canada. He also serves as a Deputy Editor for the Science Section at The Review of Religions.
ENDNOTES
1. The Lancet Public Health. Gambling: a neglected public health issue. Lancet Public Health. 2021;6(1). doi:10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30290-5
2. Blank L, Baxter S, Woods HB, Goyder E., Interventions to reduce the public health burden of gambling-related harms: a mapping review. Lancet Public Health. 2021;6(1):e50-e63. doi:10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30230-9
3. The Lancet Public Health. Gambling: a neglected public health issue. Lancet Public Health. 2021;6(1). doi:10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30290-5
4. Binde P., Gambling and religion: Histories of concord and conflict. J Gambl Issues. 2007;(20):145. doi:10.4309/jgi.2007.20.4
5. Glimne D., Gambling – Definition, History, Games, & Facts. Britannica. Accessed October 29, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/topic/gambling
6. Yahoo Finance. Global Gambling Market Report 2022: September 28, 2022. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/global-gambling-market-report-2022-101800993.html
7. National Museums Scotland, Two bone dice from Skara Brae, Orkney. Accessed September 6, 2021. https://nms.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-100-040-457-C
8. Binde P., Gambling and religion: Histories of concord and conflict. J Gambl Issues. 2007;(20):145. doi:10.4309/jgi.2007.20.4
9. Ibid.
10. The Lancet Public Health. Gambling: a neglected public health issue. Lancet Public Health. 2021;6(1). doi:10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30290-5
11. Ibid.
12. Mikhail A., Gambling. In: Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia. Vol 2. Routledge; 2005.
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad (ra), The Holy Qur’an with English Translation and Commentary (Five Volume) Vol 1 (Islam International Publications Limited, 2018). https://files.alislam.cloud/pdf/Five-Volume-Commentary-Vol-1.pdf
16. Glimne D., Gambling – Definition, History, Games, & Facts. Britannica. Accessed October 29, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/topic/gambling
17. Global Gambling Statistics 2021 – A List of the World’s Gambling Capitals. https://www.casino.org/features/gambling-statistics/
18. IPSOS. Six in Ten (60%) Canadians Partake in Gambling. March 10, 1998. https://www.ipsos.com/en-ca/six-ten-60-canadians-partake-gambling
19. UK Gambling Commission, Gambling behaviour in 2020: Findings from the quarterly telephone survey. February 23, 2021. https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/statistics-and-research/publication/year-to-december-2020
21. Parshall A., How ‘Dark Patterns’ in Sports Betting Apps Keep Users Gambling. Scientific American.
22. Ibid.
23. Cosgrave J, Klassen TR., Gambling Against the State: The State and the Legitimation of Gambling. Current Sociology. 2001;49(5):1-15. doi:10.1177/0011392101495002
24. Ibid.
25. Walker DM., Problems in Quantifying the Social Costs and Benefits of Gambling. Am J Econ Sociol. 2007;66(3):609-645. doi:10.1111/j.1536-7150.2007.00529.x
26. Parshall A., How ‘Dark Patterns’ in Sports Betting Apps Keep Users Gambling. Scientific American.
27. Latvala T, Lintonen T, Konu A., Public health effects of gambling – Debate on a conceptual model. BMC Public Health. 2019;19(1):1-16. doi:10.1186/s12889-019-7391-z
28. Ghulam Malik Farid, Dictionary of the Holy Quran. (Islam International Publications Ltd., 2006).
29. The Holy Qur’an, 2:220.
30. Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad (ra), The Holy Qur’an with English Translation and Commentary (Five Volume) Vol 1 (Islam International Publications Limited, 2018). https://files.alislam.cloud/pdf/Five-Volume-Commentary-Vol-1.pdf
31. Ibid.
32. Ibid.
33. The Holy Qur’an, 5:91-92.
34. Ghulam Malik Farid, Dictionary of the Holy Quran. (Islam International Publications Ltd., 2006).
35. Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad (ra), The Holy Qur’an with English Translation and Commentary (Five Volume) Vol 1 (Islam International Publications Limited, 2018). https://files.alislam.cloud/pdf/Five-Volume-Commentary-Vol-1.pdf
36. “Professor Clement Wragge’s first meeting with the Promised Messiah (as),” Al Hakam. March 19, 2021. https://www.alhakam.org/professor-clement-wragges-first-meeting-with-the-promised-messiah/
37. The Lancet Public Health. Gambling: a neglected public health issue. Lancet Public Health. 2021;6(1). doi:10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30290-5
38. Ibid.
39. Blank L, Baxter S, Woods HB, Goyder E., Interventions to reduce the public health burden of gambling-related harms: a mapping review. Lancet Public Health. 2021;6(1):e50-e63. doi:10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30230-9
40. Reilly C, Smith N., The Evolving Definition of Pathological Gambling in the DSM-5.; 2013.
41. Jabr F., “How the Brain Gets Addicted to Gambling,” Scientific American. November 1, 2013.. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-the-brain-gets-addicted-to-gambling/
42. Quester S, Romanczuk-Seiferth N., Brain Imaging in Gambling Disorder. Curr Addict Rep. 2015;2(3):220-229. doi:10.1007/s40429-015-0063-x
43. Van Holst RJ, van den Brink W, Veltman DJ, Goudriaan AE., Brain Imaging Studies in Pathological Gambling. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2010;12(5):418-425. doi:10.1007/s11920-010-0141-7
44. Boileau I, Payer D, Chugani B, et al., In vivo evidence for greater amphetamine-induced dopamine release in pathological gambling: A positron emission tomography study with [11 C]-(+)-PHNO. Mol Psychiatry. 2014;19(12):1305-1313. doi:10.1038/mp.2013.163
45. Jabr F., “How the Brain Gets Addicted to Gambling,” Scientific American. November 1, 2013.. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-the-brain-gets-addicted-to-gambling/
46. Abbott M, Bellringer M, Garrett N, Mundy-McPherson S., 2012 National Gambling Study: Gambling Harm and Problem Gambling Report Number 2.; 2014. https://phmhri.aut.ac.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/7542/Report-final-National-Gambling-Study-Report-No.-2.pdf
47. Morasco BJ, Pietrzak RH, Blanco C, Grant BF, Hasin D, Petry NM., Health Problems and Medical Utilization Associated With Gambling Disorders: Results From the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Psychosom Med. 2006;68(6):976-984. doi:10.1097/01.psy.0000238466.76172.cd
48. Kessler RC, Hwang I, LaBrie R, et al., DSM-IV Pathological Gambling in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Psychol Med. 2008;38(9):1351-1360. doi:10.1017/S0033291708002900
49. Lorains FK, Cowlishaw S, Thomas SA, Prevalence of comorbid disorders in problem and pathological gambling: systematic review and meta-analysis of population surveys. Addiction. 2011;106(3):490-498. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03300.x
50. Newman SC, Thompson AH, The association between pathological gambling and attempted suicide: Findings from a national survey in Canada. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. 2007;52(9):605-612. doi:10.1177/070674370705200909
51. Håkansson A, Karlsson A., Suicide Attempt in Patients With Gambling Disorder – Associations With Comorbidity Including Substance Use Disorders. Front Psychiatry. 2020;11. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.593533
52. Wardle H, McManus S., Suicidality and gambling among young adults in Great Britain: results from a cross-sectional online survey. Lancet Public Health. 2021;6(1):e39-e49. doi:10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30232-2
53. Ibid.
54. Livingstone C, Rintoul A., Moving on from responsible gambling: a new discourse is needed to prevent and minimise harm from gambling. Public Health. 2020;184:107-112. doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2020.03.018
55. Ibid.
56. The Lancet Public Health. Gambling: a neglected public health issue. Lancet Public Health. 2021;6(1). doi:10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30290-5
57. Parshall A., How ‘Dark Patterns’ in Sports Betting Apps Keep Users Gambling. Scientific American.
Related posts:
- Are Pig-to-Human Organ Transplants Too Taboo for Muslims?
- Abortion and Birth Control – Islam’s Teachings
- The Rise and Fall of Happiness
- Fuelling Change or Chaos? Islamic Perspectives on Nigeria’s Protests
source https://www.reviewofreligions.org/47417/unfavoured-odds-the-health-related-harms-of-gambling/
Categories: Ahmadis, Ahmadiyyat: True Islam, Qur'an, Quran