What is the ruling on purchasing virtual money in electronic games with real money, given the possibility of losing all of it in a single round, and is this considered gambling or usury? What is the Shariah evidence for that?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
If the game is originally permissible, then buying its advantages, such as virtual money, is not forbidden, and this is not usury or gambling. The problem arises if the game falls under the category of gambling (qimar) or if losing in it entails the player losing the entire amount and their opponent winning it, for all gambling (qimar) is Maysir and is forbidden.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/175243
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 175243
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy