Players Made Miserable, Online Gambling Only Benefits Bookies
JAKARTA – Online gambling has become a threat to society and its impact is detrimental to players and only benefits bookies.
This was expressed by the Head of the Jakarta Metro Police (Kapolda), Inspector General (Pol) Karyoto. He emphasized that the public needs to be aware of the dangers of online gambling which does not provide any benefits to players.
“What is more important is actually an understanding, awareness for us, the public should not participate in gambling. Because it only benefits bookies, for us it is a loss,” said Karyoto
He also expressed that the public should not be easily tempted by online gambling offers that can drain people’s finances.
“Top up to buy Gojek food, okay. If the top up is for gambling, it runs out very quickly. And life is not gambling,” he said.
In line with that, Public Policy Observer and CEO of the Narasi Institute, Achmad Nur Hidayat, said that online gambling provides huge profits for a handful of bookies, while the wider community bears the impact.
“The big profits from this activity are only enjoyed by a handful of parties, namely the bookies, none of whom have been arrested by law enforcement. Meanwhile, the negative impacts extend to the community,” said Achmad.
He highlighted that of the 4.4 million online gamblers, 80 percent of them come from the lower middle economic group. This group, according to him, is very vulnerable because the funds used for gambling do not produce productive benefits.
“These funds instead flow abroad because many platforms are run by foreign entities. This creates foreign exchange leakage that weakens the stability of the national economy,” said Achmad.
Firm action against online gambling bookies must be taken immediately. In addition, educating the public about the dangers of online gambling is also an important step to reduce its impact.
With so many gamblers from various circles, the role of the government and society is key to eradicating this illegal activity.
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