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Read Full BioLegal leaders in the Indonesian regency of Bojonegoro, in East Java, say that the rise of online gambling platforms is pushing divorce rates up.
The Indonesian media outlet Bangsa Online reported that, as of August 2025, the Bojonegoro Religious Court had approved 79 divorces in the regency, in instances where one of the spouses’ online gambling was the main reason for the couple’s split.
Bojonegoro-based experts said the rise in divorce rates was “increasingly worrying, particularly in cases caused by online gambling.”
Divorce Rates Could Reach Record High in 2025
The media outlet quoted Clerk of the Court Sholikin Jamik as stating that the court processed 64 divorces caused by online gambling in 2023.
But Sholikin said that in 2024, that figure rose to 181 cases. And with 79 cases already recorded by the year’s eighth month, “This year has the potential to eclipse figures from 2024,” the clerk warned.
Sholikin stated that the majority of these cases involved husbands who developed gambling addictions.
This leads to families struggling to provide for their children. “Instead, parents are spending their money on online gambling platforms,” Sholikin explained.
The clerk added: “Online gambling addiction means breadwinners cannot provide their family with basic necessities. We are talking about food, drink, children’s education, and healthcare.”
Government Must Act Now, Warns Court Clerk
Sholikin said that if Jakarta does nothing to stop this trend, the number of divorces initiated in the regency due to online gambling will continue to rise.
He called on educators, law enforcement agencies, and policymakers to stop citizens from accessing online gambling platforms.
Sholikin added that the government “must play an active role to protect the people of Bojonegoro from online gambling.” Such measures will help stop the rise in divorce, he said.
Last month, the same media outlet reported that online gambling addiction has become a problem within the civil service.
The outlet wrote that 29 civil servants in Bojonegoro had filed for divorce in the first seven months of the year. One of the most common causes given in court was online gambling addiction.
Under Indonesian law, civil servants can only divorce if they obtain permission from their immediate superiors.
Earlier this month, Indonesia’s Berau Regency also reported an overall rise in divorce rates. Data from the regency’s Tanjung Redeb Religious Court shows that the court has handled 483 divorce cases so far this year.
This figure eclipses the total 431 cases recorded in all of 2024. A Berau government official claimed that “most divorce cases” in the regency are now “driven by the increasingly widespread availability of online gambling platforms.”
