Indonesian Instagram Influencer Faces 2-Year Jail for Promoting Banned Online Casino

Rahmawati Puspita Ningrum, an Instagram influencer from Surabaya, Indonesia, faces a two-year prison sentence after prosecutors charged her with unlawfully promoting a banned online casino on her social media account. The Surabaya District Court heard on 21 July 2026 that she received the equivalent of roughly $112 across three payments to advertise the martabak188 gambling website through Instagram Stories. The case is part of Indonesia's intensifying campaign against online gambling promotion, which has seen authorities block more than 3.1 million gambling-related websites and social media posts.

• Total payment: IDR 2 million (approximately $112) across three transactions, according to Surabaya District Court proceedings, July 2026
• Sentence sought: Two years in prison plus an IDR 100,000 fine (roughly $6), with one additional month of imprisonment if the fine goes unpaid
• National crackdown scale: More than 3.1 million gambling-related websites and social media posts have been taken down by Indonesian authorities (Indonesian government reports, 2025 to 2026)

Updated July 2026

Who Is Rahmawati Puspita Ningrum and What Did She Post?

Rahmawati Puspita Ningrum is a young Instagram content creator based in Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, with approximately 15,000 followers at the time of her arrest. In October 2025, she was contacted via WhatsApp by a person using the name "Justin," who offered her money to promote an online casino on her Instagram Stories. She accepted the offer and proceeded to advertise the martabak188 website, an illegal online gambling platform, across a series of posts. Indonesian police arrested her on 4 December 2025. Her case reached the pre-sentencing stage at the Surabaya District Court in July 2026, where she appeared before the judge on 21 July 2026 and asked the court for leniency.

What Charges and Sentence Is She Facing?

Prosecutors at the Surabaya District Court have asked a judge to sentence Rahmawati to two years in prison. In addition to the custodial term, they are seeking a fine of IDR 100,000 (approximately $6), with a further month of imprisonment substituted if she is unable to pay. The core charge against her is "offering or giving the public the opportunity to gamble without a permit," which reflects the Indonesian state's position that promoting an illegal gambling platform on social media is tantamount to actively facilitating gambling. A verdict from the court is expected in the weeks following the July 2026 pre-sentencing hearing.

What Law Does Indonesia Use to Prosecute Online Gambling Promoters?

Indonesia's primary legal instrument for prosecuting social media promoters of gambling sites is the Electronic Information and Transactions Law, known as the ITE Law. The ITE Law criminalises the facilitation, offering, or promotion of gambling services through digital platforms, and carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison. The sentence sought in Rahmawati's case, two years, therefore sits well below the statutory ceiling. In practice, courts apply the ITE Law alongside relevant provisions of the national Criminal Code that separately prohibit gambling facilitation without a government permit. The combination gives prosecutors multiple routes to secure a conviction against anyone in the promotion chain, from casino operators down to individual social media promoters.

How Much Did She Earn From the Casino Promotion?

Rahmawati received IDR 2 million in total, the equivalent of approximately $112 at current exchange rates, split across three separate payments. For context, other Indonesian influencers prosecuted in similar cases during 2024 received between IDR 600,000 and IDR 900,000 (around $36 to $55) per single promotional post, while more prominent accounts with larger audiences reportedly earned IDR 3 million to 5 million (approximately $182 to $304) per month for ongoing endorsements. The small sums involved in cases like Rahmawati's have drawn commentary from legal observers, who note that many micro-influencers who accept these offers appear unaware of the severity of the criminal exposure they are taking on for what amounts to a few hundred dollars or less.

How Many Indonesian Influencers Have Been Arrested for Promoting Illegal Gambling?

The scale of Indonesia's enforcement against social media gambling promoters is substantial. In a single coordinated operation conducted by police in Bogor and Yogyakarta, ten influencers were arrested in one day. Those arrested ranged in age from a minor still in secondary school to adults in their late forties. Separately, Indonesian police arrested 321 people, many of them foreign nationals, in a wider crackdown on illegal online gambling operations. The Rahmawati case follows an established pattern: a teenage Instagram celebrity faced a jail term in August 2025 for promoting an illegal gambling site, and another young woman was charged in October 2025 in a different city. These are not isolated incidents but reflect a consistent national enforcement policy targeting the full promotion chain.

What Is the Scale of Indonesia's Online Gambling Crackdown?

Indonesia's campaign against online gambling ranks among the most aggressive in Southeast Asia by any measure. Authorities have blocked more than 3.1 million gambling-related websites and social media posts. In the first six months of 2024 alone, the government blocked more than one million online gambling sites, a figure that matched the total from the previous five years combined, according to the Jakarta Post. The Communications and Information Ministry estimated that approximately 10,000 new local gambling platforms were appearing every day at the height of the enforcement surge, illustrating the scale of the challenge facing regulators even as enforcement actions accumulate.

Why Does Indonesia Treat Casino Promotion as a Criminal Offence?

Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim nation with a comprehensive ban on gambling rooted in both the national Criminal Code and Islamic legal principles. The prohibition covers all forms of gambling, including casino gaming, sports betting, and lottery products, and applies equally to online platforms. The government's position is that social media users who advertise illegal gambling websites are not passive bystanders but active participants in the unlicensed gambling supply chain. By targeting promoters through the ITE Law, authorities aim to cut off traffic to illegal platforms at the point of consumer acquisition. Officials have described the prosecution of high-visibility influencer cases, even those involving small payments, as a deliberate deterrence strategy intended to make the broader population of content creators aware of the legal risks attached to casino affiliate work.

How Does This Case Compare to Other Influencer Prosecutions in Indonesia?

The Rahmawati case is structurally consistent with a series of earlier prosecutions but stands out for the exceptionally small compensation involved. Receiving approximately $112 in exchange for a promotion that carries a two-year prison exposure represents a stark risk-to-reward imbalance. Earlier cases followed a similar pattern: an online casino operator or their agent would contact a small-to-medium social media account via WhatsApp or direct message, offer a modest payment, and instruct the influencer to post a promotional story or feed post. Police would subsequently identify the account through monitoring and make an arrest. The Indonesian National Police have publicly stated that their approach targets the entire promotion chain, from casino operators and their recruitment agents through to the individual influencers who post the content, treating each link in that chain as a criminal actor.

What Does This Mean for Influencers Across Southeast Asia?

Indonesia's enforcement record carries a clear warning for social media content creators across the wider Southeast Asian region, where online gambling is banned or tightly restricted in countries including Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines for unlicensed operators. Legal observers note that any influencer who accepts payment to advertise an offshore or unlicensed gambling platform in a jurisdiction where such promotion is illegal could face prosecution under local law, regardless of where the casino company is registered or where the payment originates. The Rahmawati case, alongside its predecessors, reinforces that Indonesian courts are willing to hand down custodial sentences even for promoters with small audiences and minimal earnings. For content creators receiving casino affiliate offers via direct message, the legal risk demonstrated in Surabaya should be the first consideration.

What Happens Next in the Rahmawati Case?

The Surabaya District Court is expected to deliver its verdict in the weeks following the 21 July 2026 pre-sentencing hearing. If convicted and sentenced to the two years sought by prosecutors, Rahmawati would face direct imprisonment unless she successfully argues for a suspended sentence, which Indonesian courts have occasionally granted in first-offence cases. Appeals are available under the Indonesian criminal justice system but can extend proceedings significantly. The outcome of this case is expected to be cited in future prosecutions as Indonesia continues to develop its enforcement posture on digital gambling activity and social media promotion.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Rahmawati Puspita Ningrum charged with in Indonesia?

She is charged with offering the public the opportunity to gamble without a permit, following her promotion of the martabak188 online casino website via Instagram Stories in exchange for IDR 2 million (approximately $112).

What prison sentence could she receive?

Prosecutors at the Surabaya District Court are seeking a two-year prison term plus an IDR 100,000 fine, with an additional month of imprisonment if the fine cannot be paid. Indonesia's ITE Law allows for a maximum of ten years in cases of this type.

What is Indonesia's ITE Law?

The Electronic Information and Transactions Law (ITE Law) is Indonesia's primary statute for prosecuting digital crimes, including the online promotion of illegal gambling. It carries a maximum imprisonment term of ten years.

Is gambling legal in Indonesia?

No. All forms of gambling are illegal in Indonesia under national law. The prohibition is grounded in both the Criminal Code and religious principles that apply to the country's majority Muslim population. Online gambling is specifically blocked by the government.

How many gambling sites has Indonesia blocked?

More than 3.1 million gambling-related websites and social media posts have been taken down. In the first half of 2024 alone, authorities blocked more than one million gambling sites, matching the total removed in the previous five years combined.

Can influencers in other countries be jailed for promoting online casinos?

Yes, in any jurisdiction where gambling promotion without a licence is a criminal offence. Influencers who accept payment to promote illegal or unlicensed gambling platforms in such markets risk prosecution under local digital or gambling laws, regardless of where the casino is incorporated.