Official language: Indonesian
Population: 237,512,352
Currency: Rupiah (IDR)

Current Exchange Rate
1 EUR = 13,843 IDR
1 GBP = 14,846 IDR
1 USD = 9,389 IDR

Poker in Indonesia
Indonesia is a Muslim nation, and gambling in all its forms is prohibited. This has greatly reduced the spread of poker into the country, and the game has yet to gain a national audience. While poker in Indonesia is sometimes played at illegal underground casinos, these are not safe places to play because they get raided regularly by local police.

Despite the lack of poker in Indonesia, some strong poker players have come from the country. The best is probably Johnson "John" Juanda, who was born in Indonesia but currently lives in the United States. Juanda has accumulated 45 WSOP wins during his career, and has also received prizes from the European Poker Tour, the Monte Carlo Millions, the Crown Australian Poker Championship, and other events. As of early 2009, his net winnings exceed $9 million.

Online Poker in Indonesia
Online poker in Indonesia is, in a way, less restricted than traditional land-based games in the country. While there are no proper Indonesian online poker sites to speak of, local players are able to use large, international poker websites to satisfy their gambling needs. These sites are run in countries where the Indonesian government has no jurisdiction, so they cannot be shut down by local authorities.

Foreign internet poker sites that accept Indonesian players will probably not be offered in the local language, but they will allow players to enjoy real-money games and tournaments over the internet. A variety of poker games will be offered. While Indonesia will probably never legalize online gambling, online poker in Indonesia remains one way for local players to enjoy the game.