Jakarta. Online gambling is so rampant in Indonesia that the country’s lawmakers are also among the players, and calls are mounting for some firm action against these law-breaking legislators.

However, the House of Representatives’ honorary council has yet to reveal the names of those players, thus raising the public’s eyebrows as to whether the country’s legislative body is serious about getting rid of its online gambling problem. There are also other problems, including how many legislators actually gamble online.

Indonesia’s Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) not long ago revealed that over 1,000 individuals at both the national and regional House of Representatives gamble online. Their bets amounted to around Rp 25 billion ($1.5 million), and there were 65,000 transactions involving these lawmakers. PPATK’s head Ivan Yustiavandana said that his agency had already secured the details regarding these online gambling transactions, including the full name of these gamblers. Ivan said that his agency was also only following the recently established, government-run anti-online gambling task force.

“We will just wait for the House’s honorary council to call us [to reveal the details]. The task force has instructed us to provide them with the details of each government body,” Ivan said.

Not long after Ivan’s remarks, Adang Daradjatun, the head of the House’s honorary council, said that there were 60 individuals at the House who do online gambling. About 58 people were employees, while 2 others were legislators. Adang added: “But these are still allegations. We are still investigating whether the two lawmakers actually gamble online.”

Adang also refused to disclose their names, while adding that he would need to confirm it with the House’s general secretariat. Senior lawmaker Habiburokhman also made similar comments. He said: “Those 58 people are just staff, employees, and so on. Yes, they may be working at the House, but they are not lawmakers. There are only two House members allegedly involved. And the transactions total around Rp 1.9 billion.”

Habiburokhman also called for the honorary council to take the “appropriate actions” against the gamblers, be it a repressive or persuasive approach. The data discrepancies also prompted House speaker Puan Maharani to urge the honorary council to expose the gamblers’ identity.

“If there is any, just tell us their names. So there won’t be any slander,” Puan said.

No Need to Protect The Criminals

Sanctions await for the legislators who actually gamble online. Under the existing regulations, any legislator who commits ethics violations can face sanctions with various levels of severity. A minor sanction may include written or oral warnings. But in severe cases, the violators can get dismissed for a minimum of 3 months. They can even be fired from their posts. Regardless of whether it is a legislator or common folk, online gambling is a violation of law. An online gambler can face up to 10 years in prison and/or pay fines worth up to Rp 10 billion. 

Amidst the data discrepancies, experts are urging the House’s honorary council to be more transparent. Political analyst Ujang Komarudin said: “If they don’t want to disclose the names, then we can say that the legislators in question and the council are in cahoots to protect one another.”

The police force must also be brave enough to take action against these troublemaking legislators, according to Ujang. Lucius Karrus, a senior researcher at the watchdog group Formappi, said that a lack of firm action against the gamblers would only ruin the House’s reputation. Likewise, sociologist Tri Wuryaningsih said, “a minor sanction against the online gambling House members would only set a bad example for the public.” 

Legal affairs expert Abdul Fickar Hadjar stated that aside from the process at the House’s honorary council, the violators must also face criminal proceedings. “Whether it is offline or online, gambling is a crime,” Fickar said.

It is important that Indonesia take action against online gamblers --be it those within or outside the parliament-- as the act has become detrimental to the general public. According to criminologist Haniva Hasna, online gambling has caused people to neglect their work and families. They may even lead to domestic violence and divorce. Psychiatrist Riati Sri Hartini added that online gambling could also affect one’s mental health, even potentially causing the gambler to commit suicide.

As people who make the laws in Indonesia, legislators should set an example to the public: that one should stay away from gambling online.

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B-Universe reporters Celvin Moniaga Sipahutar, Ichsan Ali, Hendro Dahlan Situmorang, Maria Gabrielle Putrinda, and Zhulfakar also contributed to the story.