Q&A: Benefit from an Act Done on the Sabbath
Benefit from an Act Done on the Sabbath
Question
Hello, by mistake I placed a bet on the "Winner" sports-betting site on a sports game that took place in the U.S. on the Sabbath. This happened because I didn’t notice the time of the game before submitting the bet.
The bet was for 10 shekels, and I won 14.5 shekels.
Am I allowed to benefit from the money? I’m concerned that perhaps Jews in Israel were involved in handling the bet during the Sabbath.
If I am forbidden to benefit from the money, I would be glad to know whether there is a distinction between the amount I paid and the amount I earned.
Another note: the money was automatically credited to my account on the betting site, automatically. Moreover, *by mistake I already placed more bets, some of which were based on those same shekels that perhaps I was not allowed to benefit from*.
A second note: it’s possible that I could have made an effort and tried to cancel the bet by phone immediately after submitting it, once I noticed my mistake. However, I permitted myself not to call, perhaps out of laziness on my part, and on the other hand because I thought I was not obligated to make that effort in order to cancel the bet, since an act done on the Sabbath is a rabbinic prohibition, and with a rabbinic-level doubt one may be lenient as to whether I had to make such an effort.
I would be glad to know what I should do with the money—that is, what exactly to do and with what amount of the money.
Thank you
Answer
I think this is not really a case of an act done on the Sabbath, because the betting money is not the result of their work. They merely enable the payment to be transferred to you. You receive payment because you won the lottery. They also did not work for you specifically; they would have done this even without you.
Furthermore, even if this is a case of an act done on the Sabbath, if it was not done intentionally then it is certainly permitted to you after the Sabbath. The presumption is that those involved in this are not considered intentional violators, but rather simply do not understand that there is any prohibition involved (that is, they are secular). And even if it was done intentionally, there is an opinion that it is permitted to others after the Sabbath. However, if non-Jews were involved in this, one must wait long enough for the act to have been done, so don’t use it for Havdalah itself; rather wait a few minutes. 🙂
In conclusion, in my opinion you may use the money. Though as a general rule, I would avoid gambling, since this falls under the category of pigeon-flyers, which is considered improper conduct and not part of the way the world is properly settled and run (and therefore such people are disqualified from testimony as witnesses). True, this may depend on disputes about the parameters of reliance-based obligation and the like, and this is not the place for that. Beyond that, it can draw you into larger investments and entanglements. In any case, the chance of winning is probably very small.
Discussion on Answer
The chance of winning in bets like these is not very small, as the Rabbi wrote, but usually quite high (around 30%). We’re not talking about random numbers, but about understanding who will win. If you act wisely and only go for safe bets, you can make money (of course, in the long run you’ll probably lose a bit, but not necessarily at all).
In gambling you violate the most basic prohibition: don’t be stupid.