Is it permissible to prepare a computer program for a gambling company that will ease gambling?

I am a computer programmer. Betting games are played in a café in the Netherlands. The owner of the café asked me to write a program for him. With this program, the formulae for betting will be filled and checked on the computer; that is, those who bet will not use pens to write but enter the bets through the computer and deposit money. Will I be regarded to have helped the owner of the café and to have been a means of the bad deed? This is my job; I will get the money for the program; I have nothing to do with gambling. Those who play it are already playing it; they will play it more easily if I do it.

Dear Brother / Sister,

1. It is haram to do a bad deed and it is not permissible to cause it to be done. From this point of view, to help such a deed causes a person to be held responsible. As a matter of fact, most of the scholars say such a thing is haram. Therefore, it is not permissible to prepare a program for gambling.

2. However, if it is a program that can be used for both halal (permissible) and haram (forbidden) things, it is not haram. For instance, a computer and television can be used for both halal and haram things.

Questions on Islam