The Gambling Addiction Plaguing Indonesia's Civil Servants

In less than a few hours, Rp 80 million in Farhan’s—not his real name—bank account vanished without a trace. Initially, a million was lost in less than a second. Then it grew and continued to grow, until he unknowingly reached tens of millions as the slot game on his mobile phone screen spun round after round that night. “A single cigarette wasn’t even finished, and the money was already gone,” Farhan, a civil servant (ASN), told detikX, admitting to an online gambling addiction. Regrettably, the money he used for online gambling did not come from his civil service salary, but from online loans (pinjol). The losses left Farhan scrambling to find replacement funds. Unfortunately, the method Farhan chose was not to seek additional income through part-time work or other means, but to return to online gambling. Farhan admitted he struggled to stop his gambling habit due to a vengeful desire to reverse his losses. The result was not victory, but defeat after defeat. The online loan debts went unpaid and continued to mount. “It’s quite big, maybe around Rp 150 million,” said the 28-year-old. The mounting debt and addiction to online gambling caused Farhan to lie frequently. “I asked my parents for help, but I didn’t confess it was for gambling. I told them it was for playing stock investments,” Farhan explained. Fortunately, Farhan’s parents were well-off. They helped him pay off the debt. When night and boredom struck, Farhan again chose to chase away the tedium by playing online gambling. The nominal amounts, Farhan said, were even larger than before. And once again, defeat after defeat followed. The losses made him increasingly addicted. For almost a month, he did not go to the office, only to play online gambling. Until one point, Farhan realised he had gone too far when his debts reached Rp 700 million. “At that point, it finally blew up and my family found out,” Farhan said. After his family knew, Farhan finally told them everything. He was then referred to a psychiatrist and treated for a full month. The psychiatrist treating him diagnosed Farhan with a mental disorder affecting the prefrontal cortex. This is the part of the brain that regulates planning functions and emotional regulation. To this day, Farhan says he still requires outpatient care. The psychiatrist gave him two types of medication that must be taken daily. “The first one is to stabilise my mood,” Farhan said. “And the other one provides a stimulus to the prefrontal cortex part of the brain.” Farhan is just one of many civil servants now ensnared by online gambling. Data from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) shows a total of 253,758 ASN were recorded as playing online gambling in 2025. Around 69.9 percent, or 164,846 people, are government employees with work agreements (PPPK). The remaining 30.1 percent, or 70,912, are civil servants (PNS). Head of the PPATK Public Relations Team, Tri Andriyanto, said that compared to the previous year, the number of online gambling players among civil servants has increased more than fourfold. In 2024, Tri said, the figure was only around 51,611 ASN. Around 69.3 percent, or 35,765 people, were PNS and 30.7 percent, or 15,843, were PPPK. “The nominal transaction value increased from Rp 120.10 billion (in 2024) to Rp 1.014 trillion (in 2025) or about 744.7 percent, while the frequency rose from 672,956 to 8,381,956 times,” Tri Ardiyanto revealed via short message to detikX. The majority, around 196,358 people, are ASN in regional governments. The remaining 39,400 are ASN in the central government. Several regions and ministries have acknowledged the high number of ASN online gambling players in their areas and institutions. The West Java Provincial Government, for example, revealed that at least 2,694 ASN in West Java are entangled in online gambling. Of that total, 2,663 people have been confirmed as valid online gambling players. They consist of 419 ASN, 634 PPPK, and 1,610 part-time PPPK. The total transactions from these online gambling players reached Rp 14 billion. The Minister of Public Works, Dody Hanggodo, also acknowledged the high number of online gambling players in his institution. In total, Dody said, around 6,000 employees are involved. This figure is equivalent to 16.6 percent of the total employees of the Ministry of Public Works, which is only around 36,000. This circular regulates two main things regarding the enforcement of discipline against online gambling players among ASN. First, prevention mechanisms. Reni said the circular requires government agencies to proactively campaign against online gambling among ASN. Second, related to handling. “On the handling side, the Personnel Development Officer (PPK) is obliged to follow up on every alleged violation through the applicable disciplinary enforcement mechanism,” Reni said in a written message to detikX. Regarding the imposition of sanctions, Reni continued, KemenPAN-RB refers to Government Regulation (PP) Number 94 of 2021 concerning Civil Servant Discipline. This regulation stipulates sanctions for ASN entangled in online gambling with levels of punishment regulated based on the impact on the institution or the state. “Violations that have a negative impact on the work unit or institution can be subject to mild to moderate disciplinary punishment, while violations that have a negative impact on the state or government can be subject to severe disciplinary punishment,” Reni continued. However, public policy analyst Agus Pambagio views the current rules and sanction mechanisms for ASN online gambling players as still not serious enough. The fact is, the number of online gambling players among ASN has actually increased drastically since the issuance of the MenPAN-RB Circular Letter Number 5 of 2024.