Police Dismantle Cross-Border Online Gambling Network, Arrest Dozens
Jakarta. Indonesian police have dismantled an international-scale online gambling network operating across several regions of the country, arresting dozens of suspects and seizing assets believed to be worth hundreds of billions of rupiah, authorities said on Friday.
The Criminal Investigation Department of the National Police (Polri) said the crackdown followed multiple police reports filed between August and December 2025, leading to coordinated law enforcement operations in several cities and regencies.
“The exposure of this international online gambling network reflects the police’s commitment to carrying out the directives of the president and the national police chief to eradicate online gambling,” Wira Satya, director of general crimes, said on Friday.
Raids were conducted simultaneously in Pamekasan in East Java, Tangerang in Banten, parts of Jakarta — including West, South, East and North Jakarta — as well as Cianjur in West Java. Investigators arrested dozens of suspects playing different roles within the network, ranging from website owners and operators to financial administrators, bank account renters, payment gateway managers and individuals suspected of laundering gambling proceeds.
Police identified several gambling platforms linked to the network, including T6.com, WE88, Play With Confidence (PWC), and 1XBET. Authorities said the sites are suspected to be connected to gambling syndicates operating across Southeast Asia and Europe.
During the operations, police seized a wide range of evidence, including computers, laptops, mobile phones, bank passbooks, ATM cards from multiple banks, banking security tokens, corporate documents, vehicles, and hundreds of bank statements. Investigators have also frozen more than 100 bank accounts linked to the alleged syndicate.
The investigation is ongoing in coordination with Indonesia’s Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), the country’s financial intelligence unit, to trace money flows and uncover additional parties involved.
Wira said online gambling poses significant social risks beyond its illegality. “This crime not only violates the law but also has wide-ranging social impacts that harm the public,” he said.
Police estimate the network generated profits of hundreds of billions of rupiah within a year. Authorities said they are not only pursuing suspects directly involved in operating the gambling platforms, but are also targeting financial beneficiaries and those facilitating money laundering.
“Investigators continue to track financial flows, assets, and other parties involved, including those playing a role in laundering the proceeds of the crime,” Wira said.
The suspects face multiple charges under Indonesian law, including Article 303 of the Criminal Code on gambling, provisions of the Electronic Information and Transactions Law, and articles under Law No. 8 of 2010 on the Prevention and Eradication of Money Laundering.
If convicted, they could face prison sentences of up to 20 years and fines of as much as Rp10 billion ($640,000).
Tags: Keywords:
