The government in Indonesia has increased its crackdown on illegal gambling websites. It has now arrested those involved with the TAHU69 website. The arrests were made after the Jakarta Police made connections with the individuals last week.
According to the Jakarta Globe, the two arrested were Obed, 29, and Alfredo, 28. The pair were arrested at a housing complex and commercial building, and have been held in police custody since April 26 (Obed) and May 2 (Alfredo), as the investigation continues.
While not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things, the two were found to be making 100 million Rp a month, or around $6000. This is a massive amount compared to the average $700 a month earned.
Resa Fiardi Marasabessy, Head of the Mobile Detective Sub-Directorate of the Jakarta Police, said in a statement:
“Our team successfully arrested two suspects who were managing the online gambling site TAHU69.
“In four months, the profit reached nearly Rp 400 million, which means around Rp 100 million per month.”
Indonesia wrestles with illegal gambling
TAHU69’s success came from its offering. The site allowed people to play the typical casino games, but also included sports betting and a lottery system. Indonesia has a strict no-gambling law, and at the top of the year, the government stated it was going to be introducing stricter regulations.
Despite Indonesia’s ban on gambling, it has wrestled with constant busts and arrests over it. At the start of May, Indonesian law enforcement announced a $36.2 million seizure, as well as the arrest of a student in April for the promotion of gambling.
In March, the Ministry of Communications and Digital Affairs shut down a whopping 1.3 million gambling and porn websites.
While Indonesia and other areas in the region crack down on gambling, Thailand’s government is proposing an “Entertainment Complex Bill“. This would allow for the building of resorts that house casinos and the like, in stark contrast to the outright bans.
