Tim Alper is a journalist who covers betting news and regulation for CasinoBeats. He joined the CasinoBeats team in May 2025. He reports on breaking news and developments in the world of betting, casinos, and...
Read Full BioPolice in the Indonesian province of Jambi say that most users of the online casino sites they have recently discovered are teens and under-13s, including many elementary school children.
The Indonesian media outlet Jambi Link reported that the Jambi Regional Police Force says it has “successfully detected thousands of online gambling sites,” adding that the sites’ patrons “are mostly elementary school age children and teenagers.”
The police force said it had found 2,180 illegal gambling sites. A spokesperson said that officers have reported details of the sites to the Ministry of Communication, Informatics, and Digital (Komdigi).
Komdigi will likely follow up with blocking orders, as it continues to compile an exhaustive blacklist of online casinos that target Indonesian users.
Amin Nasution, a Jambi police public relations chief, said that all the sites the force had detected were hosted on overseas servers.
He explained: “Our monitoring efforts show that it is no longer just adults who use online gambling sites in Jambi. Students, even at the elementary school level, are now using these platforms. This is a very concerning development.”
Online Casino Use Rises Among Children in Indonesia
Amin added: “We hope that the public, especially parents, will play a role in preventing children from falling into the online casino trap. Online gambling platforms are not just games. They are a gateway to a whole host of social problems.”
The police chief added that the spread of online casinos in the province is not only economically detrimental, but also exacts social and psychological tolls on gamblers.
Another Jambi police spokesperson said that the police would work with public agencies to patrol the web and “minimize the spread of online gambling sites.”
The Indonesian government has been waging war on online casinos since 2023. Jakarka has recently increased the range of anti-gambling-related options available to courts.
It has also started targeting people who promote online gambling platforms on social media platforms, and live streamers who take money from online casino operators.
Jambi Wages War on Online Gambling
Earlier this month, Jambi Prison announced that it had begun randomly checking guards’ cellphones to ensure they are not using online gambling platforms.
Jambi Prison Chief Batara Hutasoit said that he would carry out such inspections “periodically and continuously.”
Prison guards all over the country have been warned that chiefs will inspect their devices to check for gambling apps or evidence of gambling-related transactions.
In Bali, meanwhile, public prosecutors have called on a district court to issue a two-and-a-half-year jail sentence to a 19-year-old Instagram star.
The influencer, Vienna Varella Angeli Parinussa, reportedly uploaded links to gambling sites several times per day from February to April this year, receiving payments of just over $15 per post.
