Medics in Indonesia say there has been a spike in inpatients with gambling addictions, with some hospitals struggling to cope with rising patient numbers.
A surge in patient numbers is causing a drastic increase in hospital bed occupancy rates, reported the Indonesian media outlet Jatim Times. Officials say that at certain times of year, hospital bed occupancy rates exceeded 90%.
Doctors attribute much of this to serious gambling addiction. Officials at the Menur Mental Hospital in Surabaya said that between January and April 2025, the hospital treated 51 patients with serious gambling disorders, 16 of whom were inpatients. By May, the figure had hit 85.
This statistic indicates sharp upward trends. In the entirety of 2024, the same hospital treated a total of 68 gambling addicts.
Trend Extends to Other Parts of Indonesia
The Surabaya figures are not isolated. Doctors in the capital, Jakarta, have reported similar trends.
Around 100 people underwent inpatient treatment for gambling-related issues in recent months, said staff at the Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM), the Indonesian media outlet Radar Bangkalan reported in November 2024.
Kristiana Siste Kurniasanti, the Head of the hospital’s Psychiatry Division, said there has been a “significant rise” in the number of patients with similar conditions.
She said around 200 outpatients are also receiving treatment for gambling addiction. Some patients were as young as 14, she added.
Siste said the figures had doubled in 2023 and tripled the following year.
“These figures have continued to balloon,” she added. “Addicts don’t know when it’s morning, afternoon, or evening anymore,” she told Indonesian media outlets last week.
“They don’t even know when their money is gone. Addicts will go to any lengths to find money to gamble. They even commit crimes, such as stealing other people’s money and belongings.”
Similar cases “have been found in many areas,” experts told Radar Bangkalan, with the number of patients likely being much higher in other parts of the country.
Medics said online gambling began to take off in Indonesia during the coronavirus pandemic. They blamed easily accessible online loan providers for enabling people to bet on credit.
Earlier this month, police in the city of Kupang arrested a taxi driver they said had become addicted to gambling.
The man, aged 30, allegedly pawned his employer’s car to help fund his online betting sprees.
Police Make Arrests
Meanwhile, police continue their crackdown on online casinos, which has thus far seen regulators freeze tens of thousands of dollars in hundreds of citizens’ bank accounts.
Officials say all the accounts were used to make deposits or withdrawals on online casino platforms.
In the Ngawi Regency, East Java, regional police officers say they have arrested six people on suspicion of using their mobile phones to gamble online.
Police said they confiscated all six suspects’ mobile phones, as well as bank cards, the media outlet Surya Indonesia reported.
At a press conference, they showed media representatives screenshots of banking applications they said the suspects used to place online bets.
“We will crack down on all social ills, including […] online gambling,” a police official told the press. “We ask for the community’s help in this matter. Together, we can work to create a safe and comfortable environment in the Ngawi Regency.”
