Indonesian police on Saturday announced the detention of 321 foreign nationals in the country’s capital during one of the largest raids in recent years against underground online-gambling networks. The operation took place in a commercial building that investigators have already dubbed a “key hub” of the illegal betting industry.

A commercial building that became a magnet for dozens of platforms

The site is located in close proximity to Jakarta’s historic Chinatown district. According to the investigative team, this was where the operations of dozens of online platforms offering gambling to users outside Indonesia were coordinated. Digital evidence and marketing records collected during the search point to the existence of more than 70 websites and at least 75 betting platforms.

Among those detained, the overwhelming majority are Vietnamese nationals: 228 people. Another 57 detainees are Chinese nationals. The rest are citizens of Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia.

How the network targeting overseas players was set up

The detentions were carried out while the alleged call centre and administrative hub were operating. Police emphasise that this was not an ad hoc group but a clearly organised structure with functions divided among members. Investigators continue to identify the organisers and the financial beneficiaries of the operation.

Wira Satya Triputra, Director of General Crimes at the National Police, said at a press conference: “We detained the suspects in the act, while they were allegedly carrying out online-gambling-related activities.” According to him, the workers were assigned to specific roles:

  • customer support,
  • telemarketing,
  • financial administration.

Police estimate the scheme had been operating for about two months.

Overstayed visas and money-laundering suspicions

A significant portion of those detained entered Indonesia on short-term tourist visas and then overstayed their visas. Triputra noted that in addition to suspicions of organising illegal gambling, there are charges of laundering funds and violating immigration laws.

As of Saturday, 275 people were officially designated as suspects, while the rest continue to give statements. The maximum possible penalty is up to nine years in prison and a fine of up to 2 billion rupiah (about $116,000) under a combination of criminal and immigration provisions.

During the search, police seized cash in multiple currencies, computers, mobile phones, passports, and other equipment allegedly used to manage betting platforms.

Why are these syndicates hard to track

Authorities say such structures regularly change locations to evade scrutiny. To maintain the sites and customer services, they deliberately recruit foreign workers, which further complicates identification.

International iGaming brands’ interest in Indonesia

The gambling market in Southeast Asia is growing rapidly, and Indonesia, as the region’s most populous country, is therefore a natural draw for operators worldwide. Analysts note that many brands operating here illegally are well known to players in India, Australia, and even Oceania. A similar pattern can be seen in legal jurisdictions as well: the same casinos offer bonus programs across several markets at once. 

Such patterns are confirmed when examining bonus aggregators, such as a portal where no-deposit free spins for card registration at online casinos for New Zealand players are collected. The overlap of brands between regions once again shows how globalised the online-gambling industry is and why law enforcement agencies have to coordinate efforts at the international level.

Untung Widyatmoko, the secretary of Interpol’s Indonesia bureau, emphasised that similar transnational operations have been uncovered in recent months in Surabaya, Bali, and Batam. According to him, there are clear signs of operators migrating from Myanmar and Cambodia: “Following enforcement measures in Cambodia, we began to record a shift toward Indonesia, and this was expected.”

A wave of detentions across the country

The raid in Jakarta was part of a broader picture:

  • On Wednesday on Batam Island, located near Singapore, around 210 foreigners were detained, including 47 women from Vietnam, China, and Myanmar, suspected of online investment fraud.
  • On Friday in Surabaya, 44 foreigners from Japan and China were arrested for posing as police officers as part of a phone-and-online scam. In the same case, back in March, 13 Japanese nationals were detained in the city of Bogor (West Java).
  • Last month in Sukabumi Regency (West Java), police arrested around 16 suspects from China, Malaysia, and Taiwan, and from Bali, they deported 26 alleged online scammers, including citizens of the Philippines and Kenya.

Online gambling is completely banned in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country. Authorities are steadily ramping up pressure on the illegal sector, citing growing risks of organised crime and cross-border cyber operations. Police said the investigation into the Jakarta case could lead to further detentions and the exposure of the network’s international links.