Our Guide to the Best Indonesian Online Casinos
Much like in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, all forms of gambling in Indonesia are strictly forbidden. For this reason, you might find it difficult to find a secure and legitimate Indonesia casino site to sign up with. This is where we come in – our experts have searched the web for the best casinos online in Indonesia and have presented them to you right here. These online casinos rank highly in terms of safety, entertainment, games variety, and customer support. Whichever Indonesia online casino you select from our list, you’re guaranteed a superb, top-quality gaming experience, whether you’re playing from your desktop or mobile.
If you’re still unsure whether any of the above sites are the right pick for you, our team has compiled a handy Indonesia online casino guide that will show you what to expect from our top gambling sites:
A Safe and Secure Gambling Environment
Since online casinos are not regulated and licensed within Indonesia, it’s very easy to run into scam gambling sites on the web. This makes it even harder to find a trustworthy casino online in Indonesia. Online gambling is our passion, which is why we help fellow enthusiasts like you find the safest Indonesian casino sites to play at. We make sure all our casinos are regulated by international licensing bodies, and that all their games are rigorously vetted for fairness by independent testing companies. Otherwise, we simply would not list these sites on the page.
We also understand that you want to disclose your personal data online with complete confidentiality – which is why all our approved Indonesia online casinos use state-of-the-art SSL encryption technology to protect your banking details.
Nothing beats playing casino games and winning real money in a secure and fair environment, so we ensure that all our sites here can deliver that experience.
Exceptional Bonuses and Promotions
Bonuses are one of the biggest perks of online casinos, and luckily, our trusted gambling sites have plenty of them. Whether you want to join a no deposit bonus casino in Indonesia, or rather claim some free spins, our sites have it all.
As a new member you will receive a welcome bonus, which usually offers you real money to play casino games. After you’ve claimed your welcome bonus, you can take part in dozens of other exciting promotions at the casino. You can enjoy weekly cashback for instance, claim free chips, or participate in slot tournaments to win prizes.
You can even enrol in a VIP club by collecting loyalty points while you play. This means you’ll be entitled to a personal account manager, exclusive gifts, bigger bonuses, and much more.
Countless Casino Games and Slot Machines
You’ll want a gambling site that has tons of variety when it comes to casino games, and our sites offer just that. Whether you want to play casino slots online in Indonesia, or beat the dealer in blackjack, our top sites have it all.
If you’re a slots fan, then you’re spoilt for choice. Indonesia casino sites feature hundreds of titles in their lobbies, from classic three-reel slots and bonus-packed video slots to big-money progressive jackpot games. And if you enjoy table games – our online gambling sites have got you covered too. Casino classics like roulette, baccarat and craps are available, as well as three card poker, Texas hold’em, and pai gow poker.
Craving an authentic casino experience? Then live dealer games are your best option for the closest thing to a land-based casino. Live online casinos work by connecting you with a real, human dealer via a steaming video. You’ll be able to place your bets via an easy interface, and the dealer will use actual wheels, cards, and other equipment for the games. Popular gaming choices among Indonesians include live baccarat, live dealer Sic Bo, and live Hi Lo.
Indonesia-Friendly Casino Deposit Methods
While our trusted online casinos allow you to use debit and credit cards to deposit and withdraw cash, they also offer payment methods with complete anonymity and added security. Given the illegality of gambling in the country, Indonesians should use e-wallets, prepaid cards, and cryptocurrencies. We’ve ensured all the sites on our list here feature these banking methods. E-wallets you may come across include Skrill, Neteller, Siru and Trustly. Popular prepaid cards you can use at our Indonesia casino sites include PaySafeCard and EcoPayz.
If you want full-on anonymity when depositing at a casino, our experts recommend using cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum. We suggest cryptocurrencies as individual transactions do not have a name attached to them, so it will be very hard to trace a payment back to a person. For this reason, we’ve listed Indonesia gambling sites with a variety of cryptocurrencies for you to choose from when you’re ready to deposit.
Gambling in Indonesia: A Complete Overview
In Indonesia, gambling has been criminalized since the 1970s. This is a complete ban, encompassing casinos, lotteries, and parimutuel wagering on horse racing. This wasn’t always the case: under colonial rule, for instance, the Dutch ran lotteries for a time in the early 1800s.
When the country gained its independence in 1967, the newly installed government did not immediately take any steps to curtail gambling, instead leaving it up to the individual provinces to determine whether or not to regulate gaming in any form. However, even then the cultural influence of Islam was felt, with many local governments hesitating to operate lotteries or other games for fear of being criticized by Muslim leaders.
In 1967, Governor Ali Sadikin legalized gambling throughout the country, albeit under fairly tight controls. Three Indonesian casinos were approved, slot parlors were opened, and betting was allowed on greyhound and horse races. Lotteries were also put into place, which helped to fuel infrastructure projects throughout the nation.
But this situation would not last. In 1973, the government banned public gambling under pressure from Muslim officials. A year later, all existing gaming permits were revoked, although the existing casinos were allowed to continue operating as long as only foreigners were allowed to play. And in 1981, regulations were tightened even further, banning any form of betting whatsoever.
From time to time, the country has dabbled into the gambling world again, though never for very long. Soccer pools were opened up in the 1980s but were cancelled after a few years. A second attempt at a widespread lottery to fund social programs also lasted for just a short period of time before being shut down by parliament.
Today, the ban holds firm thanks to a strong coalition of Muslim lawmakers who oppose the practice on religious grounds and other legislators who have their own concerns over the social ills that could be caused by a robust gaming industry. But the question is far from settled, as proposals are still brought up from time to time to bring back betting in various forms.
In the meantime, illegal gambling dens have become rather well established throughout the country, particularly in Jakarta and other major cities. Police do attempt to shut down these operations, but they are often widespread and exist with the tacit approval of local governments who see them as a way to attract tourism and money into their communities.
Current Online Gambling Climate in Indonesia
If you had hoped that there would be more tolerance for online gambling in Indonesia, then prepare for to be disappointed: the government takes just as much of a hardline position against Internet gaming as it does when dealing with land-based venues. The difference, though, is that online play is much harder to control, meaning that online betting in Indonesia is extremely widespread, despite the national stance.
That’s not for a lack of effort on the government’s part. Since 2012, Officials have tried on several occasions to block sites offering games to Indonesians, with varying levels of success. At any given time, some sites may be effectively blocked; however, far more tend to slip through the cracks, and tech-savvy citizens tend to find ways to access even those that have been prohibited.
What these efforts have accomplished is preventing any local Internet betting operations from taking hold, at least in a regulated way. On the other hand, many of the best online casinos licensed in other countries are happy to let Indonesians play on their sites, even if the government isn’t too happy about it. This means that you’ll find most of the popular online casino gaming brands here – with the exception of some of the publically-owned firms that tend to stay exclusively in regulated markets. A few of the better-known developers who supply games here are:
- Playtech
- Microgaming
- Betsoft
- RTG
- NetEnt
- Topgame
The Future of Online Gambling in Indonesia
It may seem inevitable that a country with a population that is more than 85% Muslim would never allow gambling to be legalized within its borders, but as we’ve already discussed, that is clearly not the case in Indonesia. Illegal betting is so widespread as to be available to anyone who wants to find it, and the country has on several occasions allowed various forms of wagering to take place legally.
That means that it is highly likely that local and provincial governments will continue to lobby for reforms that allow them to offer something – be it a lottery, sports pools, or casino licenses – that allow them to collect taxes rather than watch illegal operators continue to rake in the profits. Whether or not this is going to convince national officials to the extent where such a bill can pass through parliament remains to be seen, but the issue won’t disappear anytime soon.
Even if this does occur, however, it is unclear whether online play would be any part of these attempts at regulation. It seems like a long shot at best: governments have rarely pushed forward with Internet betting sites before allowing land-based play to become established first. That’s not to say that regulation of Indonesia online casinos could never take place here, but rather that we’ll have to see brick-and-mortar regulation first – and it will have to manage to last for more than a handful of years.
