Jakarta. The Foreign Affairs Ministry reported a sharp increase in Indonesians reporting to the Indonesian Embassy in Cambodia, with many falling victim to the growing online gambling industry. In 2023, the number of Indonesians voluntarily registering with the embassy surged by 638 percent, with most of the cases linked to online fraud and gambling.

"Based on self-report data at the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh, 2,332 Indonesians reported in 2020. This number jumped to 17,212 in 2023," said Judha Nugraha, Director of Indonesian Citizen Protection, during a press conference in Jakarta on Monday.

However, these figures do not reflect the actual number of Indonesians in Cambodia. Judha said local authorities have reported that 123,000 Indonesians entered the country by September 2024.

Cambodian immigration also reported that 89,000 Indonesians hold residence permits in the country, Judha added.

"There is a significant discrepancy between Cambodia's immigration data, which shows 89,000 Indonesians with residence permits, and the self-report data, which stands at only 17,212," he explained.

According to Judha, there is an increasing trend of Indonesians voluntarily seeking employment in the online gambling industry abroad, particularly in Cambodia. This trend is being driven by fraudsters and online gambling operators who openly offer lucrative jobs managing online scams.

The Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh handled 2,321 legal cases involving Indonesians this year, with 77 percent of these cases, or 1,761, related to online fraud, according to Judha.

Indonesia is grappling with a rising online gambling crisis. The government’s Online Gambling Task Force recently revealed that the country is home to 4 million online gamblers, including 80,000 children under 10 and 440,000 aged 11-20.

The financial impact is staggering, with Indonesia's financial transaction watchdog PPATK reporting a surge in gambling-related transactions from Rp 2.01 trillion ($124.8 million) in 2017 to Rp 327 trillion in 2023. In the first three quarters of 2024 alone, Rp 280 trillion was recorded. Without stronger intervention, the total circulation of funds from online gambling could reach Rp 981 trillion in 2024, with much of the money likely flowing to offshore destinations like Thailand and Cambodia.

"Clearly, there needs to be a coordinated effort among all stakeholders in Indonesia to prevent this issue from spreading further in society," he concluded.