Hackers denounce gambling on French lottery website

A group has hacked the French website for the EuroMillions lottery with warnings denouncing gambling as the work of the devil.

The French Euromillions site has been hacked by hackers. https://www.fdj.fr/

The hackers, who identified themselves as “Moroccoanghosts”, posted messages in French and Arabic on the site on Sunday, blocking access to the webpage.

The French version of one of the messages said: "Oh you believers. Wine, games of
chance, statues all augur impurity and are the work of the devil."

It exhorted people to quit gambling, saying it was used by the devil along with alcohol to "sow hatred between yourselves and turn you away from God and prayer".

Gambling and alcohol are forbidden in Islam.

The EuroMillions site was since been taken offline.

France has an estimated four million Muslims, the largest Islamic population in western Europe.

Launched in 2004, the EuroMillions lottery is now played in nine countries across western Europe, including Austria, Belgium, Britain and Switzerland.

More than 100 million euros are up for grabs in a EuroMillions jackpot to be played on Tuesday.