The practice of online gambling in Indonesia has now developed into a systemic problem that is closely related to various other crimes, ranging from online fraud and online lending (pinjol) to trafficking in persons (TPPO) offenses.
Since the end of the New Order in Indonesia, all forms of gambling in public places are considered illegal. Yet, in the year 2024 alone the country’s financial intelligence unit PPATK recorded at least four million online gamblers nationally.
The previous year saw accumulated online gambling transaction funds reaching Rp 327 trillion or around A$27 billion.
SBS Indonesia spoke with Haeril Halim of Amnesty International Indonesia about the history of the rise of online gambling in Indonesia and about the international networks that enables the operations.
According to Haeril Halim, online gambling practices often involve human rights violations such as human trafficing (tindak pidana perdagangan orang - TPPO) and torture.
SBS Indoneisan also spoke with Psychologist Dr. Ratih Arrum Listiyandini about the vulnerabilities that lead certain types or personalities to online gambling addiction and strangling debt.
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