\u2018My hands start itching\u2019: Inside Indonesia\u2019s online gambling\naddiction<\/p>\n
More than 12 million Indonesians, many from lower-income households,\nhave been drawn into online gambling. CNA speaks to several people\nstruggling with addiction.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA: Payday may still be a week away, but 27-year-old motorcycle\nsalesman Kibo is already imagining what he will do with his salary the\nsecond the money lands in his account \u2013 log into one of the many online\ngambling apps on his mobile phone.<\/p>\n
Maybe this time he will hit the jackpot or score a \u201cmax win\u201d- the\nhighest possible payout on a single spin. Or perhaps he will finally\nland the elusive \u201c1,000x multiplier\u201d he has been chasing. A friend hit\nsuch a multiplier before, making the prospect feel all the more within\nreach.<\/p>\n
Speaking to CNA, Kibo, who asked to be identified by his nickname,\nsaid: \u201cWhen I haven\u2019t played for a while, my hands start itching. It\u2019s\nlike you\u2019re craving it. You miss hearing the sounds, seeing the fruit\nsymbols and all those colours.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kibo, who lives in one of Greater Jakarta\u2019s poorest neighbourhoods,\nsaid that on average each month he loses about 30 per cent of his 6\nmillion to 7 million rupiah (US$330-US$388) monthly pay to gambling.\nEven on the rare occasions when he does win, he wagers most of his\nwinnings back in the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the devil\u2019s money,\u201d he said, referring to an Indonesian saying\nthat ill-gotten money never lasts.<\/p>\n
Kibo is one of millions of Indonesians caught up in online gambling,\na sprawling illegal industry that has become a major social and\nfinancial problem in Southeast Asia\u2019s largest economy.<\/p>\n
The government has been fighting an uphill battle to contain the\nindustry as gambling websites and accounts continue to reappear almost\nas quickly as authorities shut them down.<\/p>\n
On Oct 8, the Indonesian Communications and Digital Affairs Ministry\nrevealed that between Jan 1 and Sep 11, it took action against 3.6\nmillion gambling websites.<\/p>\n
The issue has made national news after 11 people were arrested on Oct\n4, in connection with an alleged gambling operation running out of a\nhouse inside a military housing complex.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that a gambling syndicate could operate from inside a\nmilitary housing complex, an area expected to be tightly guarded and\nmonitored, underscores the scale of Indonesia\u2019s online gambling problem\nand how brazen some operators have become,\u201d Trubus Rahadiansyah, a\npublic policy expert at Jakarta\u2019s Trisakti University, told CNA.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Army said the house had been allocated to a colonel\nwho had illegally rented it to civilians. The tenants then allegedly\nused the property to run an online gambling operation without the\nofficer\u2019s knowledge.<\/p>\n
According to the country\u2019s Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis\nCentre (PPATK), some 12.3 million Indonesians deposited money into\nonline gambling platforms in 2025, generating 286.8 trillion rupiah in\ngambling-related transactions.<\/p>\n
The same agency also said that 71 per cent of gamblers in 2024 earn\nless than 5 million rupiah a month and about 570,000 were recipients of\ngovernment social aid programmes.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Communications and Digital Affairs Ministry\nestimated that nearly 200,000 minors have been exposed to online\ngambling, 80,000 of whom are below 10 years of age.<\/p>\n
Yet millions of Indonesians continue to wager money online,\nsustaining an industry lucrative enough to spawn increasingly\nsophisticated operations.<\/p>\n
Experts say blocking websites, freezing bank accounts and arresting\noperators will only go so far as long as millions of Indonesians remain\nwilling to gamble.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem also requires understanding what draws people to online\ngambling in the first place and why some become addicted despite\nmounting losses,\u201d Trubus said.<\/p>\n
WHY THEY KEEP GAMBLING<\/p>\n
Gambling has been illegal in Indonesia for decades, with the\ngovernment formally passing a law criminalising the practice in 1974 due\nto mounting pressures from religious groups.<\/p>\n
However, in the 1980s and early 1990s, the government allowed\nstate-sanctioned lotteries that generated revenue for sports and other\nprogrammes, but these too were abolished in 1993 after fierce\nopposition.<\/p>\n
But gambling did not disappear. Instead, it largely moved\nunderground, taking the form of illegal lotteries, card games and other\nillicit betting operations.<\/p>\n
Betting increasingly shifted online during the COVID-19 pandemic, as\nmovement restrictions disrupted traditional gambling operations.<\/p>\n
It was during this period that Abun, who worked odd jobs at a\ntraditional market in Bogor, 50km south of Jakarta, began seeing\ngambling advertisements on social media.<\/p>\n
It was mid-2020, and many people around him were already playing.\nCurious, the now 29-year-old decided to see what the fuss was about. In\na single day, Abun turned a 30,000 rupiah bet into 300,000 rupiah,\nequivalent to two days\u2019 wages.<\/p>\n
\u201cI became addicted,\u201d Abun, who also wished to be identified only by\nhis nickname, told CNA.<\/p>\n
The promise of hitting a jackpot worth several months\u2019 salary,\ncombined with bets that can start from as little as 200 rupiah, has made\nonline gambling particularly alluring to day labourers and gig workers\nlike Abun.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone was doing it, from store clerks to food cart vendors to\nbuskers on the streets,\u201d he said of the traditional market where he\nworked.<\/p>\n
The gamblers whom CNA spoke to said the websites draw on many of the\nsame tools that social media platforms and mobile game developers use to\nkeep users engaged: rewards for returning, progress to complete, bonuses\nto claim and the constant promise that something better could be just\none more tap away.<\/p>\n
On some sites, gamblers are also contacted by \u201cadmins\u201d who encourage\nthem to keep betting, sending messages suggesting they are close to a\nwin and should put in more money.<\/p>\n
Experts said lower-income Indonesians can be particularly vulnerable\nto such tactics, especially those with limited financial literacy and\nfew opportunities to significantly improve their incomes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the same reason why smoking or alcoholism is prevalent among\nlow-income demographics,\u201d Made Supriatma, a visiting fellow at\nSingapore\u2019s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, told CNA.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are trying to cope with the burdens of life by smoking or\ngambling.\u201d<\/p>\n
WHEN THE LOSSES PILE UP<\/p>\n
Abun said gambling gradually became something he felt compelled to do\nevery day. There were days when he would gamble his entire wage almost\nimmediately after receiving it.<\/p>\n
The addiction became so bad he started selling his possessions and\nborrowing money from friends, colleagues and employers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought: \u2018I\u2019ll gamble this money and maybe it\u2019ll multiply\u2019,\u201d he\nsaid. But it never happened and instead Abun found himself deep in\ndebt.<\/p>\n
In 2024, Abun lost his job after his employer discovered that he had\nused a company loan to fund his gambling habit and was unable to repay\nit. For some time, he survived partly on government assistance, but\nbefore long, he was gambling some of that money too.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year, the government stopped giving me aid because my bank\naccount was flagged as being involved in online gambling. I don\u2019t know\nhow they found out, but until now I haven\u2019t received the social\nassistance again,\u201d Abun said.<\/p>\n
He added that his mother was also removed from the list of social\nassistance recipients after he used her bank account for gambling\ntransactions.<\/p>\n
Under the government programme, around 10 million Indonesians from\nlow-income households, as well as elderly people and people with\ndisabilities who are unable to work, are entitled to between 900,000\nrupiah and 3 million rupiah a year.<\/p>\n
Like Abun, 28-year-old Sal has also lost a steady job as a delivery\nvan driver and his status as a social assistance recipient because of\nhis online gambling addiction.<\/p>\n
He now survives on odd jobs in and around Jakarta and tries to spend\nhis daily earnings on food and other necessities as soon as he receives\nthem, leaving as little money as possible sitting in his account.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I have even a little bit of money in my bank account, I would\ngamble for sure,\u201d said Sal, who also asked CNA not to reveal his full\nname.<\/p>\n
But Sal has not quit entirely.<\/p>\n
Stories of friends and acquaintances scoring big still tempt him\nback. He said he has instead tried to control his habit by limiting\nhimself to wagering 50,000 rupiah every two weeks.<\/p>\n
And while he has heard stories of people losing their life savings,\nsinking into insurmountable debt or even turning to crime to fund their\naddiction, Sal said those extreme cases have, paradoxically, convinced\nhim that his own addiction \u201cis not so bad\u201d.<\/p>\n
Kibo is also convinced that his addiction \u201cis mild compared to\nothers\u201d even though he once lost nearly a month\u2019s pay in less than 30\nminutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still managed to survive without selling my belongings. But some\nof my friends have gone crazy because of (gambling addiction). Some have\neven committed fraud,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cONCE YOU\u2019RE IN, YOU\u2019RE TRAPPED\u201d<\/p>\n
Kibo has tried several times to stop.<\/p>\n
\u201cI even tried locking myself out of my account by deliberately\nentering the wrong password,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Such efforts never lasted long. Kibo would find himself setting up\nanother account as soon as friends recommended a new gambling site that\nappeared to be paying out.<\/p>\n
Over the years, he estimates he has created more than 20\naccounts.<\/p>\n
Kibo said he would often rejoice at news of an online gambling\noperation being raided, hoping each crackdown might finally put an end\nto the websites he frequented.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut as soon as one website is taken down, another one pops up in its\nplace. Sometimes the new website is an exact copy of the old one, just\nwith a different address,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Experts said efforts to choke off the supply of online gambling will\nachieve little if millions of people like Kibo continue to provide the\ndemand.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany online gamblers become trapped because they lack an\nunderstanding of the financial risks they face,\u201d Achmad Nur Hidayat, an\neconomist and public policy analyst from Jakarta\u2019s National Development\nUniversity, told CNA.<\/p>\n
Achmad said the government needs campaigns that help people better\nunderstand the risks of gambling while introducing them to legitimate\nways to save and invest their money.<\/p>\n
Trubus of Trisakti University, meanwhile, said the government must\nacknowledge that decades of prohibition have largely pushed gambling\nunderground rather than eliminated it.<\/p>\n
\u201cLegalising some forms of gambling would bring it out of the shadows\nand allow the government to regulate it, put safeguards in place and\nimpose heavy taxes on revenues that currently flow through illicit\nbusinesses and organisations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest challenge lies in convincing religious groups that\nlegalising gambling is far preferable to leaving it illegal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another approach would be to treat compulsive gambling like other\nforms of addiction, with dedicated hotlines, support groups, counselling\nprogrammes and rehabilitation services for people trying to quit.<\/p>\n
\u201cGambling is not viewed as a mental health issue; it is not perceived\nas having any impact on mental well-being,\u201d said Made Supriatma of the\nISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.<\/p>\n
Instead, he said, gambling tends to be viewed as a social ill and\ngamblers as morally wayward.<\/p>\n
\u201cThus, the policy adopted is one of prohibition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kibo agreed that gambling addiction should be treated as a mental\nhealth issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cGambling is like digging a hole for yourself. Once you\u2019re in, you\u2019re\ntrapped, and it\u2019s impossible to get out without the help of others,\u201d he\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf only there was someone to talk to, someone who understands the\nmess we\u2019re in, someone who used to be where we are today but has made it\nout.\u201d<\/p>\n
For now, having little money in his bank account makes it easier for\nKibo to resist the temptation to gamble. But with payday approaching, he\nis less certain that his abstinence will hold.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve genuinely been trying to cut down. But if I stop and my friends\nare still playing, especially when you see someone win big, I get\nrestless,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPayday is a dangerous moment. That\u2019s when you really get the urge to\nplay.\u201d<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/my-hands-start-itching-inside-indonesias-online-gambling-addiction-1793141415", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }