Indonesia is the fourth country in terms of having a large population globally, with 85% of the population being Muslims. The country is famous for its outstanding beaches, resorts, and incredible night-life.
With such a night-life, you’d be forgiven to assume that casinos and betting are the order of the day in Indonesia.
Even though that is not explicitly the case, you can get gaming agents such as Slot88 that offers Slot Online gaming services to make transactions more straightforward for you. Slot88 is an online slot agent in Indonesia that allows you to play various games from around the world. You access several games on one website, which makes them a “One Stop Entertainment.”
The Legal Landscape Regarding Betting
While the rest of the countries in Asia are reporting exponential growth in online gambling, Indonesia seeks to restrict it at all costs.
In 2012, the Indonesian Ministry of Social Affairs, Religious Affairs, and Communications announced a plan to implement legislation to make online gaming illegal.
The legislation was a reaction to the large sums of money its citizens used in betting in the Euro 2012 football championships.
Indonesia’s Jarkata Post reported that Indonesia’s citizens were gambling billions of Rupiah online, and some were going to the extent of selling their homes to finance betting.
The Indonesian government has come up with various gambling laws that seek to prohibit gambling.
The strict Islamic laws also enhance the gambling laws. As mentioned earlier, over 85% of Indonesian citizens are Muslims. The people have a strong devotion towards their religion and culture, strictly prohibiting betting, consuming alcohol, and other illegal activities.
Currently, there are no poker rooms, betting shops, or casinos that legally operate in Indonesia. A state lottery run by the Indonesian government was also closed after protests from citizens from the Muslim faith.
However, you can still get illegal-run casinos and arcade games in major cities in the country, which are famous tourist attractions. Government agencies raid such casinos and arcade games from time to time, and the culprits can be imprisoned for 3-5 years.
Disciplinary action is also taken against tourists who get involved in such illegal activities. Some tourists also get robbed of their money and valuables in these illegal dens.
Punishments for Gambling
If you are involved in illegal activities such as online gaming, you can attract a raft of severe punishments. For instance, in Aceh province, an individual found guilty of such offenses will be caned thoroughly in public as a stern warning to everybody else.
You can also get imprisoned for up to 3-5 years for the crime.
However, as the Indonesian government has found out, it is not a walk in the park prohibiting betting, especially online gambling. The government has tried to develop technical solutions to bar citizens from accessing international websites that offer online gambling.
The measure is hard to implement as there are several tools online that help to circumvent the IP address blocks. Until the government comes up with measures to deal with circumventing IP addresses, the citizens will continue accessing the international betting websites.