Ruling on prizes offered by stores if they are given after playing a golf-like game

If the price of the product
is no more than the price in other stores, and the purchaser bought it
because he needed it and not so that he could enter the draw or contest to
get the gift, then there is nothing wrong with it in that case, according to
the correct scholarly view. 

The different opinions of
scholars concerning this issue have been discussed in the answer to question
no. 22862. 

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih
al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: Here in Kuwait we
have different kinds of transactions that are widespread nowadays. The
businessman offers his products and distributes coupons to the purchasers
according to how much each of them spends. These coupons are entered into a
draw for prizes, then after that the draw is made and some people win prizes
given to them by this businessman. What is the ruling on that, may Allaah
reward you with good? 

He replied: 

With regard to this kind of
transaction, we must address the seller and the purchaser. To the seller we
say: did you raise the price because of this prize or not? If you raised the
price, then this is not permissible, because if the price was raised and the
people bought from him, then they will be either winners or losers. If the
market price for this item is ten, for example, but you made it twelve
because of the price, then this is not permissible, because the one who
bought it for twelve will either lose the extra money that he paid, that was
more than ten, or he will gain more than that amount in the prize. So this
falls under the heading of gambling, which is haraam. 

If the seller says: I am
selling it at the price that people usually pay, no more and no less, then
he may offer those prizes so as to encourage people to buy from him. 

Then we turn to the
purchaser and say: Did you buy this item because you needed it, and would
you have bought it whether there was a prize or not, or did you buy it only
because of the prize? If he says the former, then we say there is nothing
wrong with buying it from this vendor or that, because so long as the price
is still the market price, and you are going to buy this item because you
need it, then in that case you will either be a winner or be safe. In that
case there is nothing wrong with buying it from the one who is offering
prizes. 

But if he says, I bought it
although I do not want the item; I only bought it so that I could get the
prize, we say that this comes under the heading of wasting money, because
you do not know whether you will get the prize or not.  

I have heard that some
people will buy a carton of milk which they do not want; they buy it and
pour it away in the hope of wining the prize. This is wasting money, and it
is proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
forbade wasting money. 

There remains a third
matter, which is that someone may say that this transaction may harm other
sellers, because if this seller offers prizes to purchasers, and his prices
are like the market prices, all people will go to him and the sales of other
traders will become stagnant, so this will harm others. We say: This matter
should be referred to the state, which should intervene. If the state thinks
that this matter will affect the market, then it should ban it if it thinks
that banning it will be in the people’s interests, or if it thinks that it
is tinkering with the markets, because tinkering with the markets is
something that the authorities should prevent. 

End quote from Liqaa’aat
al-Baab il-Maftooh (49/question no. 5) 

It makes no difference
whether the prizes are offered to the one who wins the draw or to all
purchasers, or whether they are the same or differ according to the draw or
how a person plays the game, as you mention. All of that is permissible
subject to the two conditions mentioned above. 

And Allaah knows best.