BANTUL, YOGYAKARTA — A recent online gambling case in Bantul, Special Region of Yogyakarta, has revealed a new modus operandi: depositing funds through e-wallet accounts. This discovery has now become a key focus for the Indonesian National Police (Polri).

The disclosure of the case began with a report from an intelligence officer on Thursday, July 10, 2025. The Yogyakarta Regional Police's Intelligence and Security Directorate discovered online gambling activity at a house in Banguntapun, Bantul. The team arrested five people operating the online gambling system.

The suspects, identified by their initials as RDS (32), EN (31), NF (24), DA (22), and PA (24). The arrests revealed a new fact: the players deposited funds for online gambling through e-wallet accounts. The five men used an electronic system to profit from several online gambling applications.

Police emphasized that this clarification was necessary to dispel circulating claims suggesting that law enforcement targeted only players, especially those who managed to outsmart gambling operators. Authorities confirmed that both players and operators would face strict legal action without exception. Any law enforcement officers found protecting such activities would also be dealt with firmly.

The case is currently being handled by the Special Criminal Investigation Directorate of the Yogyakarta Regional Police (DIT RESKRIMSUS POLDA D.I. YOGYAKARYA), which is tracing the flow of funds to identify the main operators.

“Whether they are players, operators, or anyone involved in online gambling, we will take firm legal action,” from investigators contacted by journalists from the National Police Criminal Investigation Center on Saturday, August 9, 2025.

Traditionally, police track gambling funds through bank accounts; in this case, however, investigators are following transactions made via e-wallets. The police are working with Indonesia’s Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) and other relevant agencies to trace the money and apprehend the operators.

According to Pusiknas data, the Bantul case is one of eight gambling cases handled by the Yogyakarta Regional Police (Polda D.I.Yogyakarta) between January 1 and August 8, 2025, involving 17 suspects. Bantul recorded the highest number of gambling-related law enforcement actions, with three cases and seven suspects—both online and offline—since the beginning of the year.

Data also show that most suspects in these cases work as laborers (11 people). By age group, the majority are over 51 years old (10 people).

Under Law No. 2 of 2002 on the Indonesian National Police, Article 15 paragraph (1) letter j, the police are authorized to operate the National Criminal Information Center (Pusiknas). Pusiknas operates under the Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) and is regulated by Police Regulation No. 1 of 2024, which revokes the previous regulation on its operation.

Pusiknas Bareskrim Polri manages the Piknas system to support police performance in handling criminal information using information and communication technology. The system also provides internal and external criminal data services as part of Polri’s vision of PRESISI—Predictive, Responsible, and Transparent with Justice.

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