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Police raid Batam online gambling centre earning $717k per month
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Batam, Rempang and Galang Police chief Anggoro Wicaksono speaking at a press conference in Batam on May 25.
PHOTO: BARELANG CITY POLICE
The Batam, Rempang and Galang (Barelang) Police have dismantled an Indonesian online gambling centre with a monthly turnover of around 10 billion rupiah (S$717,000) based out of a luxury housing complex in Batam, the Riau Islands, part of a multinational network that included a Cambodian branch and a main company based in the Philippines.
At around 2.45pm local time on May 21, officers from Criminal Investigation Unit 1 of the Barelang Police raided the branch centre at Taman Golf Residence in Sukajadi subdistrict, Batam City district, and detained three suspects: HR, identified as the head of the Indonesian operation, and finance staff HL and ET.
Addressing a press conference on May 25, Barelang Police chief Anggoro Wicaksono said the syndicate operated at least three gambling sites: MPO999 (mpo999one.com), MALLBET (mallbetnew.com) and MPOMEGA (1mpomega.com).
“From the site of the raid, we confiscated cash and funds in an escrow account totalling some 1 billion rupiah,” Senior Commissioner Anggoro said.
“Based on our investigation, the 1 billion rupiah was accumulated from transactions over just three days,” he added.
Mr Anggoro also called on the public to remain vigilant and not fall for the traps of online gambling operations, whether as players or job seekers.
He advised people who spot any suspicious activities in their neighbourhoods to contact the police’s 24-hour hotline 110.
At the same press conference, Barelang Police criminal investigation chief Commissioner M. Debby Tri Andrestian said the Batam centre was part of a multinational syndicate, with suspect HR working in direct contact with the Philippine online gambling company.
Mr Debby added that the syndicate operated under a profit-sharing scheme of “20 per cent for the main company in the Philippines and 80 per cent is suspect HR’s share”.
While the local branch operated from the residential complex in Batam, the Cambodia branch was responsible for administrative aspects such as marketing and customer service, he said.
Suspects HL and ET were allegedly responsible for managing the payment gateway, recording all incoming bets, transferring operational funds and paying the salaries of workers at the Cambodia branch.
The network has been operating since 2024.
It evaded law enforcement by periodically relocating its local base, with the site in Sukajadi believed to be its second.
Police also confiscated several electronic devices used to manage and monitor transactions, including 16 cellphones, three tablet computers, one mini laptop and two CPUs, four monitors, four BCA token devices and two passports.
The investigation into the online gambling network is ongoing, particularly in tracing its financial flow as well as the possibility of other escrow accounts and operatives.
The suspects have been charged with Article 45, paragraph 3, and Article 27, paragraph 2, of Law No. 1/ 2024 on Electronic Information and Transactions, along with Article 426, paragraphs 1a and 1c, of the 2023 Criminal Code, which carry maximum punishments of 10 years in prison and a 10 billion rupiah fine. THE JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
