Illegal gambling and scam operations surge in Indonesia amid arrests

A massive arrest of more than 300 foreign nationals in Jakarta on May 9 indicates that illegal gambling and scam operations may have shifted to Indonesia, creating a sizable new challenge for the island nation to combat.

In one of the largest crackdowns on illegal digital betting networks in the nation’s history, Indonesian authorities arrested 321 foreigners in the Chinatown area of Jakarta. The majority of the foreign nationals were from Vietnam (228). Others hailed from China (57) and the rest from Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia.

The latter has been a hotbed of similar operations in recent years.

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Illegal Operations Moving to Indonesia?

One of the most telling parts of the raid was the quote from the secretary of Indonesia’s Interpol bureau, Untung Widyatmoko:

After enforcement measures in Cambodia, we started to see a shift toward Indonesia, and that was something we anticipated.

The number of crackdowns in Indonesia has been increasing. Before this massive one in Jakarta, there was another one in the second-largest city in the country, Surabaya, on the eastern end of Java. In that raid, authorities arrested 44 foreign nationals from Japan and China. There have also been recent raids in Batam, across from Singapore, and the tourist hotspot Bali.

Hundreds of foreign nationals have been arrested from various countries in Asia. Some are even coming from other parts of the world, such as Kenya and Tanzania.

Indonesia had a successful crackdown on online gambling that cut illegal activity by half in the later part of 2025. But it appears that the lagging enforcement on in-person operations has led to the large island nation becoming a new hotspot for scam syndicates.

Indonesia Not Equipped to Handle Influx of Scam Syndicates

The world’s fourth-most populous country, with more than 283 million people, has historically had a welcoming attitude toward foreigners and lax visa policies compared to other nations in the region. It is also the largest country in Southeast Asia, a massive archipelago comprising more than 6,000 inhabited islands.

The country’s police force or judicial system is also not ready or equipped to combat widespread syndicates. The Global Organized Crime Index wrote in a report about Indonesia’s judicial system:

Indonesia’s judicial system faces institutional inefficiencies and lacks the capacity to effectively combat organized crime. While non-judicial bodies such as the Corruption Eradication Commission and the National Narcotics Agency are more active in tackling criminal activity, the judiciary suffers from low public trust and a reputation for corruption.

Overall, the opportunity exists for scam syndicates composed of foreign nationals to settle in various parts of Indonesia and operate undetected.

Spillover From Cambodia and Myanmar Crackdowns

In recent months, both Cambodia and Myanmar have increased efforts to crack down on the widespread illegal digital betting network operations that existed in both countries. The crackdowns in Cambodia were linked to casinos and scam compounds where human rights abuses occurred.

Meanwhile, the Myanmar government made a big display of cracking down on the scam compounds within its borders. The junta government broadcast the crackdown by showing the bulldozing of buildings, equipment being destroyed, and the arrest of foreign nationals.

Some speculated that the dramatic broadcasts were merely for show, intended to give the appearance of strict enforcement, especially the destruction of empty buildings. As in Indonesia, corruption accusations have frequently dogged government entities.

But the increased presence of these operations in Indonesia may indicate that Myanmar and Cambodia were actually at least somewhat effective in removing them from within their borders. Thus, the apparent spread to Indonesia.

Jeffrey McMillan

Poker Writer

Jeffrey is an Expert Sports and Poker Writer with poker being his specific scope for the better part of five years. He has worked in various capacities at the biggest poker events in the world, WSOP, EPT, local tournaments and more. He has worked with PokerNews, Poker.Org, 888poker and the WSOP itself through the years. Jeff is also a fervent follower of many sports, professional, collegiate and international, with a particular interest in tennis. He received a Master's in Sports Management from the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) and a Bachelors in the same field from Clemson University.