In recent years, there has been an aggressive promotion and normalization of gambling through sports betting, prediction markets, and other platforms. Although gambling is not new, it has never been so widespread as it is today, where we are bombarded with advertising on our phones. For example, the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that the rate of young men contacting Ontario’s mental health helpline for gambling-related problems has increased by more than 300 per cent after the province allowed private online gambling. However, when evil actions become normalized and treated as matter-of-fact activities, they spread rapidly and destroy entire societies. We have already seen this in Western societies with the promotion of alcohol and promiscuity – and now, gambling is being added to the mix. So, as the Muslim community that is under constant attack by the liberal-democratic ideology, how do we face this threat?

Understanding the Threat of Normalized Gambling

Historically, gambling activities were typically confined to private circles and kept away from the mainstream, regardless of whether it was betting, games, or anything else. In fact, from the 1930s to the 1990s, one would have to consciously go to a gambling place (e.g., a casino or horse racing track) to engage in such activities. While dangerous, people would generally not learn about or know about gambling unless they themselves either sought the information or if someone in their family or circle of friends was involved and tried spreading the evil. For most Muslims, gambling was not a reality that they would face and deal with each day, unlike other issues, such as the pressure to assimilate and integrate into Western culture. However, containment began cracking in the late 1990s.

Through the late 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, there was a rise in black-market gambling in areas that were not officially sanctioned. Some might be aware, for example, of things like spot-fixing, fantasy sports, and other under-the-table activities. Basically, these new gambling avenues were not legal or officially sanctioned, but began generating many billions and later tens of billions of dollars of profit each year, causing the entities around them, such as sports leagues like the NBA and others, to try to capture and integrate them via “official” and other sanitized means. Bettors in Ontario wagered a stunning $103 billion online over the last year, producing $4.3 billion in revenue. The intent was never, at any point, to make it safer for those involved, but to take full control of the profits being generated from these activities.

Now, as the sports leagues started building their own betting systems, they also began lobbying governments to legalize or permit the advertisement and promotion of these systems to customers. Not only that, but technology made it extremely easy for people to sign in to these platforms and start betting – so the barrier to entry was entirely gone. Through the late 2010s and early 2020s, anyone watching sports – regardless of their age — was constantly and relentlessly exposed to gambling. Not only that, but they were fed a narrative that spun gambling into a normal, if not ‘smart’, activity that would allow for easy money. They presented gambling as an easy cash grab for the sports fan since they followed their team so closely and understood the sport so well; you were an expert who could make cash from your knowledge. Now, the online mobile-first betting scene is mainstream, and not only that, but generation after generation of people are actively being taught that it is perfectly fine to partake in.

Today, however, this evil has risen to another level through the rise of open prediction markets. These are new platforms where people can literally bet on anything, i.e., from where a war is heading to the color of someone’s socks on any given day. Like sportsbook betting, prediction markets are now also being marketed as an accessible way to make “easy money” via simple mobile apps and massive advertising pushes (and that too in sports leagues like FIFA, NBA). These open prediction markets are also generating profits faster than the older sportsbook betting platforms. So, for example, in 2025, the US sportsbook betting took $165 billion in wagers, while in 2026, prediction markets are trending to $240 billion. But the more insidious aspect of prediction markets is that they are being connected to every domain, even educational and noble endeavours like studying politics, following the news, or scientific research. So, in effect, everyone in the world will be exposed to relentless marketing of gambling, and with it, the backers of these evils will make it seem normal and just a matter of life, like the evils of fornication and alcohol.

Not only that, but the liberal-democratic system has also made life for everyone in the world – including the West – miserable, with food and housing prices skyrocketing while jobs and incomes are collapsing. So, the other high-risk aspect of normalized or mainstream gambling is that more people will also see it as a pathway to earning money. In fact, studies increasingly show a correlation between limited career/financial opportunity and the rise of normalized gambling.

Recognizing the True Enemy

It is true that profit fuels the spread of evils. Indeed, the elite are capturing the near-entirety of the profit from all of these activities, at the expense and misery of the public. But the desire for profit is not the only driver. Rather, the widespread societal promotion of evil actions is the goal of the liberal-democratic ideology – i.e., to obey one’s nafs instead of the Creator. In the Qur’an, Allah (SWT) discussed this, stating:

“Have you seen ˹O Prophet˺ those who have taken their own desires as their ilah? ˹And so˺ Allah left them to stray knowingly, sealed their hearing and hearts, and placed a cover on their sight. Who then can guide them after Allah? Will you ˹all˺ not then be mindful?” [TMQ: 45:23]

Allah (SWT) tells us to obey Him (SWT) in every single matter – i.e., we follow His Commands, do only what He allows us to do, and we refrain from and avoid everything He forbids., In contrast, the liberal-democratic ideology actively promotes the idea that the nafs is the reference point for everything. This is why this ideology promotes freedom – i.e., freedom to say what one wants, believe in what one wants, buy/own what one wants, and basically do whatever one wants. Basically, it claims that no one, not even Allah (Astaghfirullah) can order what humans can and cannot do.

The normalization of widespread gambling is just a new link in the long chain leading back to this point. It adds on to zina, khamr, drugs, riba, and so on. Because of this reality, the actual threat to our community is not just simply that of gambling or betting, but it is part of the larger ideologically-backed package. The message the liberal-democratic system is conveying is that it is perfectly fine to act upon one’s nafs, take control of one’s own life, and make decisions that are the best for oneself. The average Canadian follows the dominant ideology and, as such, will fall into all the traps the system sets up for them. However, for Muslims, it is vital that we operate with this awareness and respond to these threats by understanding their ideological roots.

If we target the ideological roots, we can then strengthen the Muslim community against this and other threats emanating from this ideology. Yes, we must be vigilant about the details of how gambling (and other evils) are evolving so that we can properly educate our Muslim community, especially the youth. This is critical, but that is just the first step; we must think at the ideological level as well.

If we start operating at the ideological level, then we will go beyond simply telling our youth that gambling or some other evil is haram. Rather, we will empower them to think deeply and understand who they are – i.e., the slaves of Allah (SWT). In other words, when our youth face any new challenge and threat, they themselves will ask, “Does Allah (SWT) allow me to do this?” They will also be a shield to themselves (on top of the protection that we, their parents and elders, provide), and pass that clarity to their own children.

Building a Practical Roadmap

Practically, the Muslim community must protect itself on multiple, different levels. The first level is to educate ourselves and the youth on the actual problem and eliminate the uncertainties or confusion surrounding prediction markets and sportsbook betting. We must remind our congregations that these are all forbidden in Islam, for Allah (SWT) says:

“O believers! Intoxicants, gambling, idols, and drawing lots for decisions are all evil of Shaytan’s handiwork. So shun them so you may be successful. Shaytan’s plan is to stir up hostility and hatred between you with intoxicants and gambling, and to prevent you from remembering Allah and praying. Will you not then abstain?” [TMQ: 5:90-91]

We must also invest in the real-world spaces for our youth, so they have halal and productive outlets to spend their free time or energy, explore their interests, and learn knowledge and skills that will help them operate in these difficult times. This is the time for our community to invest in programs such as self-defense, entrepreneurial education, and seeking ‘ilm.

The next level is countering liberal-democracy as an ideology and, in turn, teaching Islam as the solution. So, we should teach our youth to obey Allah (SWT) in all aspects of their lives and, not least, think about their role in carrying Islam to humanity. We must be aware that our situation today actually mirrors that of Rasul’Allah (SAW) when he was in Makkah. However, when we review the Qur’an, Ahadith, and Consensus of the Sahaba (RA), we know that Rasul’Allah (SAW) took a specific series of steps to take the world from total darkness to one where the light of the Haq shone strongly and spread.

And that is the vital level of thinking we must integrate into our strategy. We cannot stop our thinking at trying to furnish a comfortable life in Canada. Rather, our thinking must be a project, one where we strive for a future where we are back living in the Muslim-majority lands where our parents or we came from, and where those lands are governed by the laws of Allah (SWT) under the Khilafah ala Minhaj an-Nabuwa.