Posted on: May 10, 2026, 10:28h.
Last updated on: May 10, 2026, 10:28h.
- Indonesia has arrested 321 foreigners on illegal gambling charges
- The suspects are accused of running 75 criminal online gambling websites
Police in Indonesia say a raid on Saturday, May 9, in West Jakarta resulted in the arrests of 321 people, all of whom were foreigners. The law enforcement notice said the foreign nationals were working in an illegal online gambling center.
All forms of gambling, including online casinos and sports betting, are banned in Indonesia. That hasn’t stopped illicit enterprises from setting up shop in the Southeast Asia country to run criminal online gambling websites and apps.
We found allegations of organized gambling activities involving foreign nationals from various countries,” said Brigadier General Wira Satya Triputra, the Indonesian National Police’s director of general crimes.
Of those arrested, 228 were Vietnamese, 57 were Chinese, and the remaining suspects came from Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia.
The world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, Indonesia is home to more than 288 million people, making it the fourth-largest in the world. Indonesia’s economy is the largest in Southeast Asia, with the country being a major exporter of natural resources, including nickel production. The economy has also become a fintech and digital services hub.
Illegal Gambling Network
Indonesian law enforcement says the people charged aided in running more than 75 online gambling websites. The platforms targeted players outside of Indonesia, investigators said their marketing and language materials suggested.
The Indonesian National Police said safes, passports, laptops, and various foreign currencies were seized during the raid. An investigation is ongoing to determine the “full extent of the syndicate’s financial network.”
Online gambling is illegal in most of Asia, allowing such illegal gambling networks to target players in countries like China and Japan. The Asian Racing Foundation estimates that illegal betting in Asia is a $425 billion annual industry.
Triputra said many of the suspects arrived in Indonesia on short-term visitor visas and overstayed their permits. The immigration violations will be added to any criminal charges related to the online gambling bust.
Triputra said the defendants face up to nine years in prison and a possible fine of up to two billion rupiah ($116,000).
Indonesia Migration
Indonesian law enforcement officials explained that they’ve been on alert for criminal gambling operations since Cambodia began cracking down on such iGaming hubs last year. Cambodia’s war with Thailand has also caused some illicit businesses to seek a home base elsewhere.
After enforcement measures in Cambodia, we started to see a shift toward Indonesia, and that was something we anticipated,” said Untung Widyatmoko, secretary of Indonesia’s Interpol Bureau.
The online gambling raid came just days after Indonesia National Police said they had arrested 44 foreigners from Japan and China for running an online and telephone scam.
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