Is a tournament entry fee gambling?

What makes something gambling?

Gambling (maysir or qimar) is when each side puts money at risk, and one side wins the other's money based on an uncertain outcome. One party gains purely at the other's loss. The Quran calls gambling a work of Satan (Quran 5:90) and also forbids taking people's wealth unjustly:

Paying for a service is different. When you pay a gym, a pitch rental or a race organiser, you get something in return whether you win or lose.

When an entry fee is fine

• The fee covers costs: venue hire, referees, insurance, t-shirts, medals and trophies.
• The prize is paid by a sponsor, club or organiser out of its own money, not from the entry pot.
• The fee goes to charity, and prizes are donated or modest.
• Everyone gets the same thing for their fee (a race number, timing chip, finisher's medal), and winners get a trophy funded separately.

Most marathons, park races, chess clubs and amateur leagues work like this, so they are fine.

When it becomes gambling

• "Winner takes all": each team pays £50 and the winning team takes the whole pot.
• Esports or poker-style tournaments where the prize pool is mainly the players' buy-ins. See Can I still play poker with friends as a Muslim if we don't bet money?
• Paid fantasy leagues where entry fees fund the payout. See Is fantasy football haram?

Grey areas

Many events are mixed: part of the entry fee covers costs and part tops up the prize. Scholars differ here. Some say any share of fees going into the prize makes it doubtful; others look at whether the prize is mainly funded from outside. Classical scholars of the four schools also discussed adding a competitor who pays nothing, to break the "everyone stakes" pattern. If you can't tell how an event is funded, ask the organiser. If the answer is "the entries make the prize", it's safer to skip it, or to enter but give up any cash prize. For prize-linked savings that work similarly, see Are Premium Bonds haram?