Criminologist Says Online Gambling Syndicate Now Directly Approaching Indonesian Market
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Criminologist and Professor at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Indonesia (UI), Adrianus Meliala, assesses that Indonesia is now not only a market for online gambling (judol) but is also beginning to be used as an operational base by international syndicates.
He made this statement in response to the uncovering of an online gambling headquarters belonging to an international network in the Hayam Wuruk area, West Jakarta, carried out by Bareskrim Polri.
According to Adrianus, the syndicates’ relocation of operations to Indonesia is related to the large online gambling market in the country.
“The Police’s ability to uncover it is actually the result of anticipation. The Police have already seen signs that they would move their office to their target market, namely Indonesia,” said Adrianus to Kompas.com on Monday (11/5/2026).
When one country tightens enforcement, the network will seek another country deemed more profitable.
“Transnational crime is similar to a balloon; if you press the left side, the right side will bulge. And vice versa,” he said.
Adrianus stated that the large-scale operations conducted by the Vietnamese Government previously are suspected to be one of the factors driving the relocation of online gambling activities to Indonesia.
It was previously reported that Bareskrim Polri uncovered an online gambling practice of an international network in an office building in the Hayam Wuruk area, West Jakarta, on Saturday (9/5/2026).
In the raid, the police secured 321 people suspected of being involved in online gambling operations.
Of that number, 320 are foreign nationals and one is an Indonesian citizen (WNI).
From that total, 228 people are from Vietnam, 57 from China, 13 from Myanmar, 11 from Laos, five from Thailand, and three each from Malaysia and Cambodia.
The police suspect that the network is connected to an international syndicate and is run in a structured manner to avoid blocking.