UI Criminologist: International Online Gambling Headquarters Shifting to Indonesia
Jakarta - A criminologist and Professor at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Indonesia (UI), Adrianus Meliala, assesses that the uncovering of an international online gambling (judol) headquarters in the Hayam Wuruk area, West Jakarta, indicates a shift in the operations of cross-country syndicates to Indonesia.
He explained that the relocation of judol activities to Indonesia is suspected to have occurred after the Vietnamese government conducted a large-scale operation against similar networks in its territory.
“When the Vietnamese government carried out a major operation recently, the activities moved their office to Indonesia,” Adrianus told Kompas.com on Monday (11/5/2026).
“Transnational crime is similar to a balloon: if you press the left side, the right side will bulge. And vice versa,” he revealed.
Adrianus views the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency’s (Bareskrim Polri) raid on the online gambling headquarters in Hayam Wuruk as a form of anticipation by the authorities against the potential relocation of the international syndicate’s operational base.
“The police’s ability to uncover it is actually the fruit of anticipation. The police had already seen signs that they would move their office to their target market, namely Indonesia,” he said.
Therefore, he continued, the police then carried out various surveillance and investigation steps to gather evidence before conducting the raid.
“So, interceptions were then carried out to obtain elements for the investigation,” he said.
In the raid, the police secured 321 people suspected of being involved in the online gambling operations.
Of that number, 320 are foreign nationals (WNA), while one other is an Indonesian citizen (WNI).
Investigators also found at least 75 domains and websites suspected of being used as online gambling facilities.
The police suspect that the network is linked to an international syndicate and is run in a structured manner to avoid blocking.