What is your point of view about the purchase of Prize Bonds, and its prize money? Is it valid in Islam?
Answer
I think that prize bonds are not allowed because they operate on the principles of riba (interest) and maisir (gambling). The government decides to allocate a fixed amount for all the investors in bonds (which is riba), and then doesn’t give to everyone. Instead, only the ‘lucky’ ones get the prize on the basis of random/chance selection of their names (which is maisir).