Prison For Online Poker Players – Surely Not

Eleven people have found themselves in very hot water last week in the Medan District of North Sumatra, Indonesia. While we know that Sharia law is pretty tense, we had no idea that people could be sent to jail for playing Facebook poker. But prosecutors from this district court have demanded that the four internet shop operators and cashiers who traded the online chips, as well as seven poker players, be given a seven-month sentence. I am sure some will maybe not take their freedom for granted in quite the same way!

During the indictment, Juliana Tarihoran – the prosecutor - said that the eleven defendants were in violation of Article 303 of the Criminal Code. This criminal code dictates that gambling is not allowed in this country. The prosecution therefore accused them accordingly before a panel of judges, then demanded the sentence. She went on to say that poker chips had been purchased from the cashiers for Rp2,000 (about 20 US cents). These were transferred to the players accounts, and then if they won, the players were able to sell the chips back to the cashiers for Rp 1,700 each. (even less than 20 US cents).

All eleven defendants in this poker-related case are being already held in jail. They are detained at the Tanjung Gusta penitentiary, and have all appealed for leniency.

The Indonesian Government has been cracking down on online gambling in this the largest Muslim-majority nation. Sharia law is very strict and the crusade against online gambling has seen the Religious Affairs, Social Affairs and Communications and Information Technology Ministries banding together to tackle the problem.

However, we all know that playing Zynga Poker on Facebook, can’t really be considered to be true online gambling. Yes, there is a small price to pay, but it is really a social gaming activity. Perhaps we should just think of this – in 2009, ten Indonesian children aged between 12 and 16 years, were arrested in an Airport car parking lot for playing a coin-toss game.

If you want to play poker online, and are legally allowed, check out our listings of the best online poker sites.