“But as soon as one website is taken down, another one pops up in its place. Sometimes the new website is an exact copy of the old one, just with a different address,” he said.
Experts said efforts to choke off the supply of online gambling will achieve little if millions of people like Kibo continue to provide the demand.
“Many online gamblers become trapped because they lack an understanding of the financial risks they face,” Achmad Nur Hidayat, an economist and public policy analyst from Jakarta’s National Development University, told CNA.
Achmad said the government needs campaigns that help people better understand the risks of gambling while introducing them to legitimate ways to save and invest their money.
Trubus of Trisakti University, meanwhile, said the government must acknowledge that decades of prohibition have largely pushed gambling underground rather than eliminated it.
“Legalising some forms of gambling would bring it out of the shadows and allow the government to regulate it, put safeguards in place and impose heavy taxes on revenues that currently flow through illicit businesses and organisations,” he said.
“The biggest challenge lies in convincing religious groups that legalising gambling is far preferable to leaving it illegal.”
Another approach would be to treat compulsive gambling like other forms of addiction, with dedicated hotlines, support groups, counselling programmes and rehabilitation services for people trying to quit.
“Gambling is not viewed as a mental health issue; it is not perceived as having any impact on mental well-being,” said Made Supriatma of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.
Instead, he said, gambling tends to be viewed as a social ill and gamblers as morally wayward.
“Thus, the policy adopted is one of prohibition.”
Kibo agreed that gambling addiction should be treated as a mental health issue.
“Gambling is like digging a hole for yourself. Once you’re in, you’re trapped, and it’s impossible to get out without the help of others,” he said.
“If only there was someone to talk to, someone who understands the mess we’re in, someone who used to be where we are today but has made it out.”
For now, having little money in his bank account makes it easier for Kibo to resist the temptation to gamble. But with payday approaching, he is less certain that his abstinence will hold.
“I’ve genuinely been trying to cut down. But if I stop and my friends are still playing, especially when you see someone win big, I get restless,” he said.
“Payday is a dangerous moment. That’s when you really get the urge to play.”
