Denpasar court sentences 35 Indians over Bali online gambling operation

Denpasar — The Denpasar District Court sentenced 35 Indian nationals to between two and two-and-a-half years in prison on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, for operating an online gambling network in Bali.

Why it matters: The ruling means 35 Indian nationals will serve prison terms before deportation and will be barred from returning to Indonesia.

The court also ordered the defendants to be deported to India after completing their prison terms and barred them from re-entering Indonesia, according to The Jakarta Post and The Star. Presiding judge Putu Gde Novyartha said the defendants had violated Article 426 of Indonesia’s Criminal Code.

Two defendants received two-and-a-half-year sentences, while the other 33 were sentenced to two years. Prosecutors had sought prison terms of between four and five years.

The judges treated the defendants’ alleged involvement in transnational crime and conduct opposing the government’s online-gambling eradication programme as aggravating factors. The defendants said they had been recruited in India for legitimate work in Bali and later directed into online-gambling activities.

Police investigation

Bali police arrested 39 Indian nationals at two villas in February, according to the New Straits Times. Prosecutors subsequently charged 35 of them. Investigators said the group entered Indonesia on tourist visas and handled activities including online-gambling promotion and transactions.

The operation involved multiple websites and used Indian rupees for transactions, The Jakarta Post reported. Police said the network generated up to 8 billion rupiah, or about US$450,000, a month, according to the New Straits Times.

The court’s deportation and re-entry orders will take effect after the defendants complete their prison sentences.

Sources

• The Jakarta Post
• New Straits Times
• Detik Bali