Indonesia Targets International Online Gambling Syndicates and Spam Campaigns

Indonesian authorities have launched a broad crackdown on transnational online gambling operations. In Bali, a court heard the case of 35 Indian nationals accused of running international gambling sites from two villas in Badung and Tabanan, with police seizing the premises and arresting 17 of the suspects during a raid on 3 February 2026.

Police investigations also uncovered a large‑scale spam network that floods social‑media comment sections with gambling promotions. Minister of Communication and Digital Meutya Hafid told a press conference that the perpetrators use a real‑time monitoring system to detect spikes in engagement and then automatically post thousands of promotional comments via bots. She said 52 % of the spam‑filled comments target regional influencers, 31 % hit government agency accounts, 12 % appear on mass‑media pages and 5 % on public‑figure profiles. The Ministry of Communication reported a 128 % rise in such content over two weeks in June, handling 126,180 pieces of gambling‑related material and shutting down 111,279 illicit website pages.

The police’s cyber‑crime unit also dismantled an international syndicate linked to the 1XBET platform, arresting four suspects and seizing over Rp 119 million in assets, while a separate raid at the Hayam Wuruk office complex detained 321 foreign nationals, most from Vietnam, China and other Asian countries. Officials emphasized coordination with digital platforms and other agencies to curb the illegal gambling trade, especially ahead of the FIFA 2026 World Cup, which has been exploited for sports‑betting.

The combined efforts reflect Indonesia’s intensified fight against online gambling, targeting both the operators behind the sites and the automated promotion tactics that reach Indonesian internet users.