PBNU: Jakarta Must Not Become an International Online Gambling Hub

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – The Chairman of the Executive Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) for Religious Affairs, KH Ahmad Fahrur Rozi (Gus Fahrur), addressed the proliferation of international online gambling (Judol) networks in Jakarta. He asserted that Jakarta must not become a centre for international online gambling operations. He called on the government and law enforcement agencies to act decisively against all parties involved in these online gambling practices. “Jakarta must not become an international online gambling centre. Online gambling destroys morals, ruins families, and incites criminality,” said Gus Fahrur when contacted by Republika.co.id on Tuesday (12/5/2026). According to him, the government needs to impose severe sanctions on bookmakers, operators, and those who protect such criminal practices. Law enforcement, he stated, must be carried out seriously and without discrimination. “The government needs to act firmly with severe sanctions against bookmakers, operators, and all parties protecting this practice,” he said. Gus Fahrur emphasised that PBNU supports professional and just efforts to eradicate online gambling. He also reminded that legal action alone is insufficient without accompanying preventive measures that reach the public. “We support the eradication of online gambling in a serious, professional manner, and without discrimination. Law enforcement must be accompanied by moral education, digital literacy, and strengthening of the community’s economy so that the nation’s generation does not become victims,” he said.