Indonesian Police to Crack Down on Illegal Online Gambling

The fact is known to many, Indonesian gambling laws absolutely do not tolerate any forms of gambling, with the exception of few in the form of camel or horse racing. Those gamblers unlucky enough to be caught gambling will be send to prison.

If a player is caught in a conservative province of Aceh, he or she will be caned. As many as 100 lashes can be given under Sharia law.

At the same time, in order to gamble away from nearly omnipresent eyes of imams, many Indonesian bettors have been signing up in great numbers with offshore casinos to pursue internet betting in Indonesia. This has annoyed two groups of powerful men.

The first group is, of course, composed of the imams. As some complain, gambling is not only evil but also makes the believers donate less money to the Islamic learning centers. The second group is just as powerful. Its members are renowned underground casino operators, many of whom are the godfathers of local mafia.

Unfortunately for them, there’s nothing they can do when it comes to offshore online casino operations. On the other hand, any attempt at running an online casino in Indonesia will result in police actions as many religious men and casino mafia godfathers will gladly tell the cops about it.

In the latest Indonesian gambling news report, six men were arrested over accusation of running an illegal gambling casino for online bettors. The sources indicate that the Internet start-up has been receiving as much as 400 million Rp (over $40,000) a day in first deposits.

Most likely, those who deposited their gambling money with this outfit, will lose it. Some may additionally be whipped or sent to prison. The owner of the online casino is still at large. We doubt, though, that he may want to get lost in Aceh province.