New Guinea gets mad at illegal online and SMS gambling

Authorities on one side of the island of New Guinea have broken up an online gambling ring while telecom providers on the island’s other side have been warned to knock off their text message gambling services.

On Tuesday, the Papua Police cybercrime unit announced the arrest of three individuals accused of running an illegal online gambling business since January. The trio were arrested at their base of operations in a retail shop in Timika, which is located in the Indonesian-controlled western half of the island.

Police said the trio utilized a website based in Munich, Germany to process their wagers, while collecting bets and paying out winnings in person. The operation reportedly enjoyed daily betting turnover of between Rp 600m to Rp 700m (US $45k to $52,500), although Chief Inspector General Paulus Waterpauw said his team’s initial examination of the seized technology suggested daily handle “possibly got up to Rp 2b ($150k) per day.”

News of the arrest was followed one day later by authorities in Papua New Guinea (PNG) – the independent eastern half of the island – warning local mobile communications service providers that offering gambling services via text messages would no longer be tolerated.