The World Cup is one of the world’s most-watched sporting events. In 2018, FIFA reported that its broadcast acquired over 3.57 billion viewers worldwide, breaking the previous viewership records of the events. The 2022 World Cup is expected to pull in 5 billion viewers, according to FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

A boon for bookies, it is also a ripe betting season for long-time gamblers.

Indonesia has long waged a battle against the online gambling industry. The Communications and Information Ministry reported that it had blocked at least 118,320 online gambling-related content as of August 2022.

Analysts expect a massive increase in sports betting on this year’s World Cup compared with the 2018 tournament. Barclays analysts claim the tournament is expected to see US$35 billion in wagers. This is 65 percent higher than the 2018 World Cup.

Continuing habit

Avid gambler Anton (not his real name) is a 38-year-old agriculture entrepreneur based in East Java. The father-of-two shared that he had gambled for the past 25 years. He admitted that he had been trying to stop but had not been able to quit completely.

“Don’t think that it’s always about the money. [I do it] because most of my friends are doing it, and so we are able to talk about something in common,” Anton said.

Anton said that in Indonesia, fewer gambling dens were publicly opening up bets this year compared with the previous World Cups. Anton said that it was mainly due to the scandal involving Ferdy Sambo and the alleged involvement of police in online gambling rings, which had caused people in the local gambling world to lay low.

“My gambling den hasn’t accepted any kind of gambling for months because they were scared, but they are letting me bet for the World Cup season,” Anton said.

Jaya (not his real name), a 34-year-old Jakarta-based entrepreneur who claimed that he has a lot of “friends” at the gambling dens, added that the gambling scene in Indonesia was different to how it used to be.

The father of two claimed that some of his “friends” have even moved overseas, such as Singapore, to hide. They were also not communicating with each other, to hide their relation to the gambling world.

“They wouldn’t even say a word to me,” he said.

Although the gambling schemes in Indonesia might have changed, the Asian gambling scene is growing. The other factor that makes this year’s World Cup attract more gamblers than the previous events is the fact that the event is held in the Asian region.

According to the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), most involved in sports betting are Asian. Asian gamblers contributed almost half of the total $478 billion circulated in 2019 global sports betting. The IBIA also estimated that Asia could dominate the gambling scene by 43.2 percent by 2025.

Can’t stop

Thirty-three-year-old Sani (not his real name) said that he had at least 10 years of experience in gambling since he first began in high school. He enjoyed the adrenaline rush. The Surabaya-based entrepreneur said he had quit because betting greatly impacts his mental health.

Sani’s last bet was during the 2014 World Cup, where he rooted for Brazil, who was the favorite and the host of the quadrennial event. Sani lost at least Rp 190 million ($12,323.63) after Brazil lost 7-1 to Germany in the semifinal.

“Who would have thought that they [Brazil] would be knocked out that easily by the team who were their equal?” Sani said.

Sani became depressed as he did not know how to pay the debt. He said that he even had suicidal thoughts as he could not pay back the money he owed as his own event organising business went bankrupt. Sani’s family chipped in to set him up a small cafe, where his income went into paying the debt.

“I think that was my lowest point in life. All the money that I had collected for a few months was gone in a night,” Sani said. Sani added that he had started meditating to recover from the depression.

“Well, I prayed asking for repentance and help, which worked for me,” Sani added. Since the loss, Sani has cut ties to any relationships with his friends in the gambling world.

Sani admits that betting during the World Cup season is “highly thrilling.” To compromise, this time around, Sani wasn’t betting with money, but with coffee and food.

“You couldn’t really avoid the hype. So me and my friends bet and the loser would have to pay for lunch or dinner.”

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