Is the lottery forbidden in all its forms, and why is it forbidden if it does not harm people?

The Sharia is built upon achieving benefits and warding off harms. Gambling is among those things whose harm outweighs its good. Allah Almighty says: (They ask you concerning wine and gambling. Say: In them is great sin, and [yet, some] benefits for people. But their sin is greater than their benefit.) [Al-Baqarah: 219]. Furthermore, Allah Almighty clarified that gambling instigates enmity and hatred, and diverts from the remembrance of Allah and prayer. Gambling is prohibited due to the economic and social harms it entails, and Allah has linked success to abstaining from it.