Indonesia Witnesses Increase of Outbound Nationals Seeking Online Gambling Jobs

Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has warned of a significant rise in the number of capitals seeking employment in Cambodia, drawn by the illicit online gambling industry. The trend adds fuel to Indonesia’s already critical online gambling crisis.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Director of Indonesian Citizen Protection Judha Nugraha noted that most of those voluntarily relocating to Cambodia are coaxed by online gaming operators with the promise of lucrative jobs linked to online fraud and gambling scams.

Surge in Outbound Nationals

Judha revealed that the number of Indonesians registered with the country’s embassy in Cambodia increased by a staggering 638% in three years: “Based on self-report data at the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh, 2,332 Indonesians registered in 2020. This number jumped to 17,212 in 2023.”
He emphasized that the reports were inconclusive since Cambodia still has a large percentage of unreported Indonesians. Official records indicate that 123,000 nationals had moved by September 2024, 72% of whom hold residence permits, according to Cambodia’s immigration data.
Judha pointed to an inconsistency in the data, stating, “There is a significant discrepancy between Cambodia’s immigration data, which shows 89,000 Indonesians with residence permits, and the self-report data, which stands at only 17,212.”

Domestic Online Gambling Plight

The mass relocation adds to Indonesia’s mounting crisis of illegal online gambling. The country’s Online Gambling Task Force reports the alarming scale of the issue, estimating that there are 4 million online gamblers within its borders. 13% of the gamblers are vulnerable groups, including 440,000 children aged 11 – 20 and 80,000 under 10.
The financial ramifications are also severe, fueled by significant losses to offshore markets. Reports from the Indonesian Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) show that gambling-related transactions totaled IDR280 trillion (US$17.5 billion) by the end of Q3 2024. This figure is staggering compared to IDR2.01 trillion (US$124.8 million) in the same period in 2023.
Authorities estimate that circulating funds from online gambling could reach IDR980 trillion ($61.17 billion) by the end of this year. Most of these funds are reportedly funneled to Thailand and Cambodia, which have thriving online gambling operations.

Call for a United Front

While PPATK and other Indonesian government agencies have made significant progress in handling these concerns, the considerable challenge of overseas illegal operations persists.
The rising crisis calls for coordinated efforts between the two countries to hinder its advancement. Judha emphasized the need for a united response for the safety of citizens, stating, “Clearly, there needs to be a coordinated effort among all stakeholders in Indonesia to prevent this issue from spreading further in society.”