Lottery culture in Pakistan.

The 4000 years old lottery culture is still cherished by many states around the world, including the US, the UK, India, Malaysia, and the UAE. The Government of Pakistan is also considering introducing its own state lottery as a balm to the ailing economy.

Winning the lottery is all about fate. As it happens, you sometimes purchase one ticket and get a jackpot. On the other hand, you purchase a large number of lottery tickets and still fail to secure money. Thus, it won't be wrong to say that lottery tickets are only beneficial when luck is favoring you. Not to mention, winning a lottery is the easiest, most effortless way to make some quick cash.

However, many people in Pakistan highly disagree with this trend. They believe selling and buying lottery tickets is no different than gambling, which is forbidden in Islam. A lot of people, mostly staunch Muslims, also call it a form of usury. In fact, many consider it a sin. In light of this, a petition was filed in 1989 in the Federal Shariat Court against lottery culture in Pakistan under Article 203-D of the constitution of Pakistan. However, since no actions were taken, selling and buying lottery tickets in Pakistan remained in the gray.

Lottery Culture in Pakistan

Due to no relevant provisions in the Constitution of Pakistan and the Pakistan Penal Code, people still purchase lottery tickets in Pakistan, though the lottery draws seldom take place. Due to that, many Pakistanis invest in lotteries overseas. Recently, a Pakistani mechanic, working in Dubai, won a lottery worth AED 10,000,000 (PKR 60.7 crores) in the Mahzooz Weekly Draw.

Besides that, anyone living in Pakistan knows that there's a lot of hypocrisy in the air regarding this topic. On one hand, several Pakistanis discourage buying lottery tickets on religious grounds, and on the other hand, they invest in prize bonds. Prize bonds are more or less similar to lottery tickets. The only difference is that in case you don't win; you get to keep your invested money.

However, the point to consider here is that people buy prize bonds all the time. Forget about usury, many people fail to understand that it's also a form of lottery. Not to mention, it adversely affects the tax system of the country as your money in the form of prize bonds no longer remains traceable. It is precisely why many people convert their savings into prize bonds and avoid taxes, while practically eating the country away.

Furthermore, it has been making rounds that...

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