Indonesia arrests 5 foreigners suspected in online gambling syndicate

[Ishicryptic]

Can't they open and operate such from wherever they are? Do they need to live in the country since the casino is illegal and they don’t own any physical office?

Criminals usually base their operations in countries where they perceive there is a weakest law enforcement and at the same time, where there is a possible illegal market for them to exploit.
In China law enforcement is stronger and more effective than in Indonesia, or at least that is the perception of criminals, so they move there for the opportunity to make money and the smaller chances of getting caught committing a crime.

That is the same reason why there are illegal alcohol brewers in Muslim communities or countries, because it is illegal and there is a lucrative market, if law enforcement happens to be ineffective, then even better for those criminals.

It is quite clear why these Chinese nationals would travel to Indonesia, to start their illegal gambling operation because we all know that China is a very technologically advanced country, and it's only a matter of small time before criminals are caught because of their high tech surveillances. Also I know that China is a no nonsense country, and if criminals are caught in that country they will face severe punishments so I believe that Chinese criminals would feel more comfortable operating from a country that is not technologically advanced like theirs. I believe that illegal gambling would be more lucrative in regions where it is banned or restricted but it also carries it's risks if the perpetrators are caught. It is good that these criminals are exposed and would face the wrate of the law as a deterrent to the ones that are yet to be caught.

[Patikno]

I think this is the second time I’m seeing cases of a country arresting foreigners who are said to be operating illegal gambling businesses in the country, which brings me to the question of why someone would leave their own country and go to the country of others just to open up an illegal gambling business.

Can't they open and operate such from wherever they are? Do they need to live in the country since the casino is illegal and they don’t own any physical office?

As far as I know, other Asian neighbors of Indonesia have imposed strict restrictions on the gambling industry, and countries like Cambodia, or the Philippines have also faced pressure from China. Consequently, gambling operators there may be forced to set up shop in other countries; such as Indonesia to keep their businesses running. Even so, I still find it puzzling that such news keeps surfacing; wouldn't opening a gambling business in another country actually double their risk ?

Well, a nother possible reason isthey might be profiting from their large user base in Indonesia, but wouldn't declaring it illegal end up hurting their business ?

[YellowSwap]

I don't know how true this is but I heard that it takes alot of stress, connection and money to get a casino up and running in china even if you plan to run casino in a state that supports gambling.

Someone from china even said that if you don't have a powerful person in your family that's running for politics or have that strong connection they won't pass your casino.

This still doesn't cut it for me because if they left China because of the stress why are they doing the same in a foreign land? Getting a registered casino and going through all the legal process is better in some countries.

[TheUltraElite]

These people come from their home country to run gambling syndicates in other countries, which usually happens when the country left is bad news for casino owners. While many users will attempt to use their games I wonder how they will get their customers/victims, maybe the locals from Indonesia can help us out with that, because that is what people need to be careful about.

These gangs operate from different areas and they are not be taken lightly. Often subtle scams are going on and we are too late in attempting to unfold them.

The safer thing to do is to stick to casinos that you know, these people are probably operating some online casino hence the care needs to be taken on signing up on online casinos that are coming in new.

[Dr.Bitcoin_Strange]

You know, these set of people are doing illegal thing and it's possible that they already have their names on the track record of the government in their country, so instead of staying in their own country to commit another illegal activity, they will just move to another country. Another reason is that they may be targeting a country that has weaker enforcement against financial crime because they know that if they are operating from such country, authorities might not easily get to them. Lastly, some of this people come from a country where government laws are taken so seriously and so it would be difficult for them to accept payment from their services without getting caught and so they will travel to another country where they can be accessing payment and their money very easily without getting caught (they probably can not protect and defend their money in their country).

[Emjay24]

This happened recently, Indonesia is a country that has handled several cases of illegal gambling only this year, hundreds of them. I think foreigners see the place as a fertile hustle zone for illegal gambling activities since it's obvious the locals there are huge gambling fans. Maybe they're not very strict with the penalties they issue to defaulters.

It also seems there's a large support network for illegal gambling within the country that makes more foreigners establish their services there rather than avoid the country for it's prohibition of gambling. Or can we attribute it to corruption within the country?

I think it's better for the Indonesian government to legalize and regulate gambling, they'll give themselves fewer work if they regulate it instead since this prohibition isn't making much difference.

[Junii]

why someone would leave their own country and go to the country of others just to open up an illegal gambling business.

Can't they open and operate such from wherever they are? Do they need to live in the country since the casino is illegal and they don’t own any physical office?

I think the one reason that people think if they start illegal gambling in another country will benefits them is that they choose a country where they think the law and enforcement is weak and there are less chances that they have been traced also there are many other things that is easy in the country where law and enforcement is weak as compared to other developed countries where law and enforcement is strong for example manage black money also crypto payments etcetera what i am trying to say is opening illegal gambling website from every corner of the earth is possible but now managing money and other things is not possible in every country that is why people left there countries move to other countries and runs that illegal gambling businesses.

[TedMosby]

[...]
I think this is the second time I’m seeing cases of a country arresting foreigners who are said to be operating illegal gambling businesses in the country, which brings me to the question of why someone would leave their own country and go to the country of others just to open up an illegal gambling business.
[...]

Those who were arrested are from China and Vietnam, where gambling is also illegal in these two countries [1][2]. So, to answer your question, the reason they left their country is probably because they can't freely operate that casino business in China or Vietnam, so they opened up the business in Indonesia, where gambling is also illegal, but the laws are weaker and authorities can be paid. I'm also sure that those people who were arrested are not the main actors. I believe they are just sock puppets, sacrificial lambs in that arrest scenario. The real casino business is still operating, maybe.

[...]
Can't they open and operate such from wherever they are? Do they need to live in the country since the casino is illegal and they don’t own any physical office?

I think this is one of the answers.

"During the inspection, our officers confiscated one computer, one laptop, and 26 cellphones," Ichsan said of the operation in his remarks on Saturday.

26 cellphones, for sure, it's related to local communication with local SIM cards. They probably need to recruit local people, set up accounts at local banks, etc. And again, they maybe think it feels safer to operate in Indonesia due to weaker laws. If they operate in Vietnam or China, maybe the government can easily track them. So, doing it in Indonesia is maybe like avoiding oversight in their home country.


Source:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambling_in_China
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambling_in_Vietnam

[hedgeh0g]

In the country where I live, there are many people who come here solely to break the law and avoid punishment, as it’s difficult to track them down. Gambling is prohibited where I live, but many visitors try to organize it in basements or abandoned buildings. And such people are often called “tourists,” because as soon as they start to feel that the police are after them, they immediately leave our country and never return. According to police statistics, about 70% of such crimes related to the gambling business are committed by people who do not have a passport from the country where I am now.
And apparently, this is a kind of unique criminal business.

[xenomorfo]

These people come from their home country to run gambling syndicates in other countries, which usually happens when the country left is bad news for casino owners. While many users will attempt to use their games I wonder how they will get their customers/victims, maybe the locals from Indonesia can help us out with that, because that is what people need to be careful about.

These gangs operate from different areas and they are not be taken lightly. Often subtle scams are going on and we are too late in attempting to unfold them.

The safer thing to do is to stick to casinos that you know, these people are probably operating some online casino hence the care needs to be taken on signing up on online casinos that are coming in new.

the issue of scams is as old as the world, just yesterday we were talking about ponzi, it's not like it only happens in the crypto world or in the casino world! happens in everything
indeed in real life there are much more scams than in the virtual world
the only way to defend ourselves is to report publicly in the forum so that no one else is scammed.

[Localhostspeed]

I think this is the second time I’m seeing cases of a country arresting foreigners who are said to be operating illegal gambling businesses in the country, which brings me to the question of why someone would leave their own country and go to the country of others just to open up an illegal gambling business.

Can't they open and operate such from wherever they are? Do they need to live in the country since the casino is illegal and they don’t own any physical office?

I don't think these reported foreigners are not the only ones involved in the irregular activities, there is probability of more of them of them in the country but there ones are just caught and used as a scape goat. Some of them don't even have big money to start the paper work to operate legally in the country is why they stay low in other countries to operate illegally and because they are not registered, they can get away with customers money when they want.

I still don't blame these illegal operators actually, there is no way a visitor will go to a place and comfortably operate illegally without an insider. Most of the citizens are the enablers of their operations, they help them promote the casino to people with different ways to attract gamblers, there is no way they can work in that country without other help from the country.

[danherbias07]

They're afraid of their motherland's law but ain't afraid of other countries' laws. Why? Because they know they will just be deported if they are ever caught.

Here in our country, I believe many gambling platforms are operated by illegal gambling syndicates and are probably living in subdivisions and condominiums. Those places cannot be easily accessed by police since there's a jurisdiction of the homeowners first before the city authorities.
Plus, the security is only for the ones living there, so they are not really checked. I mean, it's not security that goes house to house but only stays at the entrance to guard the gate. They are renting on those type of houses and will probably get a 1 year contract only before they leave and find a new one.

[asriloni]

I think this is the second time I’m seeing cases of a country arresting foreigners who are said to be operating illegal gambling businesses in the country, which brings me to the question of why someone would leave their own country and go to the country of others just to open up an illegal gambling business.

Can't they open and operate such from wherever they are? Do they need to live in the country since the casino is illegal and they don’t own any physical office?

Most of SEA countries have been known having loopholes for the offshore gambling operators to run their business there. So they're mostly operating in the SEA by exploring this loopholes. I've also seen in the case when the regulators in the SEA can also be bribed by the offshore gambling operators.

No doubt many offshore gambling operators are running their business there instead of the country like China who has applied zero tolerance to the gambling.

I think it's all related to the how weak the regulations in SEA about the gambling. What they need is a country with no proper gambling regulation. So they can live in the gray area.

[boyptc]

Can't they open and operate such from wherever they are?

I guess no because if they can, they won't elsewhere for their own operation.

Do they need to live in the country since the casino is illegal and they don’t own any physical office?

If it's illegal, there's no need for them to own any physical office. They can operate anywhere in the country where they are found because it all takes a couple of computers for that operation.

A room that's full of their staff and computer won't even need to be called a physical office as long as they work there and the company goes on roll.

[Findingnemo]

Can't they open and operate such from wherever they are?

I guess no because if they can, they won't elsewhere for their own operation.

Do they need to live in the country since the casino is illegal and they don’t own any physical office?

If it's illegal, there's no need for them to own any physical office. They can operate anywhere in the country where they are found because it all takes a couple of computers for that operation.

A room that's full of their staff and computer won't even need to be called a physical office as long as they work there and the company goes on roll.

Illegal but legitimate that is the reason why they need to be present there and I doubt they are the one who are running it, might be just the workers who are doing their part of job while the real owner is spending their day in other part of the world. Also China has many gambling operators which are not regulated but uses social media to spread the name and they mostly use those platforms for money laundering.

And the weird part is no one caught anyone, it seems the ones get caught in the regular searches and reason for it is too many electronic devices.

[sompitonov]

Illegal but legitimate that is the reason why they need to be present there and I doubt they are the one who are running it, might be just the workers who are doing their part of job while the real owner is spending their day in other part of the world. Also China has many gambling operators which are not regulated but uses social media to spread the name and they mostly use those platforms for money laundering.

And the weird part is no one caught anyone, it seems the ones get caught in the regular searches and reason for it is too many electronic devices.

The key figures behind this syndicate will almost certainly never be caught, as I believe they are protected by various individuals including some in high-ranking positions. I also frequently hear references to Asia—even in the context of esports betting with many bloggers claiming that the roots of match-fixing, which implicates so many esports athletes, lie there. I sometimes recall a major Dota 2 tournament where I suspect a Chinese team might have intentionally lost twice in the final just to make more money from the defeat.

[Findingnemo]

Illegal but legitimate that is the reason why they need to be present there and I doubt they are the one who are running it, might be just the workers who are doing their part of job while the real owner is spending their day in other part of the world. Also China has many gambling operators which are not regulated but uses social media to spread the name and they mostly use those platforms for money laundering.

And the weird part is no one caught anyone, it seems the ones get caught in the regular searches and reason for it is too many electronic devices.

The key figures behind this syndicate will almost certainly never be caught, as I believe they are protected by various individuals including some in high-ranking positions. I also frequently hear references to Asia—even in the context of esports betting with many bloggers claiming that the roots of match-fixing, which implicates so many esports athletes, lie there. I sometimes recall a major Dota 2 tournament where I suspect a Chinese team might have intentionally lost twice in the final just to make more money from the defeat.

It is possible to happen in esports because they have been trained since the very beginning for the exact moment but no one is guilty until it is proven so we can only suspect them. Match-fixing happens here and there but not all the time cause the risk reward ratio isn't much for the one who is doing.

[Luzin]

I think it's all related to the how weak the regulations in SEA about the gambling. What they need is a country with no proper gambling regulation. So they can live in the gray area.

I have seen this case in Indonesia several times being exposed in the media and apprehended by the police. I am not trying to blame anyone, but it is always foreign nationals who operate their system. It seems that they intentionally target Indonesia due to the population, and although prohibited, the number of online gambling users from Indonesia is quite significant. This makes them realize that Indonesia is a large and easily influenced market. Remember, Indonesia has a population of over 270 million people.

[Mate2237]

The reason why most of these people move out from their country is because they are criminals and they think that it would be easier to hide in another country because they cannot be recognized. Online gambling in Indonesia illegal and these people are only interested in starting this up probably because they move freely in the country are hiding in but I think that aren't really smart to start such scheme in a country where gambling is illegal.


It is recorded in almost every country that most of the crimes committed are done by immigrants with the aid of citizens of the that live in that particular country. This is one of the disadvantages of banning gambling in a country, it gives room for underground gambling which increases the crime rate in that particular country, at the end of the day it doesn't solve anything, it only makes things worse.

[Mr_Brilliant$]

Many of us like to think that just because casinos are online, there is little to no duty done physically but that is not the case. There could be a lot of reasons why they preferred that country to theirs. What if the country they travelled to have weaker enforcement for that kind of things. What if cheap labour. Lower cost to operate illegal things in that country. Take china for example, do you think it will be easy to operate that kind of illegal thing in their country? No. With cameras everywhere, it will be very hard. So that country made it easy to operate illegal stuff that is why they always go to countries that have low enforcement of laws.