Question
What is the ruling on playing cards online, considering the following points: that mentioning it at the beginning of the game gives the player a small amount of points for free, and when entering a competition, each player pays a certain amount of points, and the winner receives a prize, which is usually several times the number of points paid. A player can also buy points from the game with real money at a known fixed price, and a player can sell the points obtained from winning competitions for real money. A player can choose not to buy or sell points at all, and finally, the player cannot choose their opponents, and thus the opponent may be someone who buys and sells points for real money. We hope for a detailed and sufficient answer regarding the seriousness of this issue. May Allah reward you with all good.
Answer
I say, and with God's guidance: Playing cards, whether real or on the computer, is religiously prohibited even if it is free of charge; because it wastes time on what is of no benefit, and it is a type of forbidden amusement. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) forbade playing backgammon, as mentioned in a hadith in Sahih Muslim, and playing cards is similar in reasoning. However, if it involves money as in the mentioned scenarios, since the points convert to money, it falls into a second sin, which is gambling. And God knows best.