Regulations And Integrity Of Apparatus Become Constraints Of Eradicating Online Gambling In Indonesia

Residents access online gambling sites through their devices in Bogor. (ANTARA/Yulius Satria Wijaya)

JAKARTA Online gambling practices are increasingly mushrooming, together with increasing public anxiety because there are more and more victims. Not only ordinary people who become victims, but also TNI and police officers are also entangled in gambling.

Visiting online gambling sites has become a routine for people who are addicted. In fact, this activity has often been the cause of crimes or even suicide cases in Indonesia.

The number of online gambling cases that continue to take victims has been highlighted by President Joko Widodo. The head of state said that various social problems arise due to gambling, because it not only has a negative impact on life, but also threatens lives.

A minimarket employee named Rieki Saputra (28) took away money at the shop where he worked worth Rp. 34 million at Tirta Mandala Housing, Sukamaju Village, Cilodong District, Depok, on October 22, 2023. Although he had fled, he was successfully secured by the Sukmajaya Police Buser team. The perpetrator then admitted that he had been addicted to gambling for the past year.

In May, an Indonesian Navy officer from North Sumatra, Lettu Laut (K) Eko Damara (31) died of suicide. He is suspected of being desperate to end his life due to a number of problems, one of which was due to debt of up to Rp. 819 million due to gambling.

Most recently, a politician from Brigadier Satu Fadhilatun Nikmah burned her husband who is also a police officer, Brigadier Satu Rian Dwi Wicaksono to death. Fadhilatun was angry that her husband often spent money playing online gambling. Moreover, their condition has just been blessed with a four-month-old child.

The number of victims of online gambling has caught the attention of the government in recent years. But even though it has often claimed victims, this does not discourage the perpetrators from wasting money to win online gambling.

Cybersecurity observer from Vaksin.com Alfons Tanujaya revealed that the root cause of the gambling problem is related to the financial and digital literacy of the community.

Alfons explained that the high level of financial and digital literacy will increase public knowledge that online gambling is technically impossible to win because the results have been determined by the dealer.

"There are more and more airports, meaning yes, the winner is not the winner," said Alfons, quoted by Kompas.

In addition, the manager also has access to regulate the system and how digital slot machines work as needed. For example, victims are usually given the opportunity to win first to provoke addiction.

Meanwhile, the digital security lecturer at Prasetiya University, Mulya Arie Wibowo, said that the gambling site was difficult to eradicate, precisely because of the public's high curiosity. He did not deny that many people are already addicted to gambling, making it difficult to eradicate online gambling sites so that they are completely clean.

"It is difficult to eradicate online gambling for several reasons, including the problem of addiction and easy access to these sites," said Arie when contacted by VOI.

"In addition, environmental problems also play a role and the high curiosity makes it difficult to remove online gambling," he added.

Minister of Communication and Information Budi Arie Setiadi said that since he was appointed minister, Kominfo has blocked two million gambling content. He denied the existence of online gambling which still exists today because Kominfo was unable to carry out its duties properly.

Arie Wibowo appreciated the government's efforts to block online gambling sites. However, he emphasized that the effort would be less effective if the rate of addiction of the perpetrators was already high.

Regarding online gambling addiction, clinical psychologist and forensic psychologist Kasandra Putranto said gambling can provide a strong sensation and encouragement, especially when someone wins or gets emotional satisfaction. Kasandra said, online players spend dopamine when gambling. Dopamine is one of the neurotransmitters that makes a person feel happy.

"People who have problems with addiction do have problems there, as if there is nothing fun except gambling, playing games, alcohol, and so on," said Kasandra.

The Zat gives rise to digital addiction. Repeated gambling activities can affect the gift system in the brain, which strengthens gambling behavior," he added.

The fact that a number of officers are also involved in online gambling is also a concern. Police observer from the Institute for Security and Strategic Studies (ISESS) Bambang Rukminto explained several factors that caused the officers who were supposed to fight online gambling to become players.

According to him, personnel who are not disciplined and weak make the apparatus easily fall into the judionline. In addition, Bambang also highlighted organizations that were unable to ensure the ethics and discipline of its members.

"Regardless of that, the police are also unable to eradicate judol," said Bambang.

Actually, the police have very capable abilities and infrastructure to complete the judionline. But Indonesia has regulatory constraints related to the pattern of cybercrime, including judol that is stableless or stateless.

It does not stop there, the will and integrity of personnel is often an obstacle to eradicating judol to its roots. "In addition to regulatory constraints related to the stateless cyber crime pattern, the will and integrity of personnel are obstacles," explained Bambang

Meanwhile, Arie is of the opinion that minimizing the government's gambling practice can intensify education related to financial literacy, in addition to blocking judol sites. This is done to strengthen public awareness that judol is not only detrimental to oneself, but can also harm others.