Importance of Regular Oversight to Prevent Indonesia Becoming a Hub for Online Gambling

The operational raid on online gambling (judol) in the Hayam Wuruk area, West Jakarta, which resulted in the arrest of 320 foreign nationals, has prompted various demands from multiple parties. One of them is the demand that Indonesia should not become a new location for online gambling syndicates. The demand came from House Speaker Puan Maharani, who emphasised the importance of regular oversight to address the online gambling issue in Indonesia. “Tightening or anticipation regarding this matter must be carried out not only now, but periodically. This is important to prevent it from becoming more widespread and extensive,” Puan stated at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta on Tuesday (12/5/2026). Puan stressed that Indonesia must not be exploited by certain parties to become the main hub for online gambling. “We must take anticipatory measures to ensure that no parties intend to turn Indonesia into a stopover or primary location for online gambling; of course, that must not happen,” Puan said. Criminologist and Professor at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Indonesia (UI), Adrianus Meliala, assessed 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. This was stated by Adrianus in response to the uncovering of an international online gambling headquarters in the Hayam Wuruk area, West Jakarta, by the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency. According to Adrianus, the syndicates’ shift of operations to Indonesia is related to the large online gambling market in the country. “The Police’s ability to uncover this is actually the result of anticipation. The Police had already detected signs that they would move their office to their target market, namely Indonesia,” Adrianus told Kompas.com on Monday (11/5/2026). “Transnational crime is like 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 previously conducted by the Vietnamese government are suspected to be one of the factors driving the relocation of online gambling activities to Indonesia.