The Ruling on Participating in Newspaper and Magazine Contests

Question:
The questioner says: May Allah bless you, Your Excellency the Shaykh. What is the ruling on participating in newspaper and magazine contests, whether the subscription is monthly or annual, or if the newspaper comes to the workplace?

Answer:
The one who pays the newspaper, or calls the newspaper with money and then receives more money than what he paid, this is considered gambling. This is considered one of the contests that are maysir (gambling) and qimar (gambling). This is what their practice is based on: you talk, and the talking has a cost, and if the calls increase, the money increases with them. So they take a small portion of what you accumulate with them and make it a prize, which they give to the one who won, in their opinion. So they take from people's money and give a portion of it to some people, and they consume the rest. Thus, it is consuming people's wealth unjustly. Yes.