Application of Article 427 of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Indonesian Criminal Code to the Crime of Online Gambling (A Study of Decision Number 1090/Pid.B/2026/PN Sby)

Abstract

The proliferation of online gambling in Indonesia has created new challenges for criminal law enforcement, particularly following the enactment of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code (KUHP Nasional), which reformulates gambling offenses through Articles 426 and 427. While Article 426 targets organizers or those who make gambling a livelihood, Article 427 addresses individuals who merely use an opportunity to gamble without a license, reflecting a gradation of culpability that requires precise judicial identification of the offender's role. This study examines how Article 427 was applied in Decision Number 1090/Pid.B/2026/PN Sby, a case involving an online slot gambling player in Surabaya, in order to assess the consistency between the elements of the alternative charge, the judge's legal reasoning, and the sentence rendered. This research employs a normative juridical method with statutory and case approaches, analyzing primary legal materials consisting of relevant statutes and the court decision, supplemented by secondary legal literature. The findings indicate that both elements of Article 427 namely "every person" and "using an opportunity to gamble held without a license" were proven through consistent witness testimony, the defendant's statement, and physical evidence, justifying the judge's choice of the alternative charge over Article 426. However, the analysis reveals a disparity between the prosecutor's demand and the verdict, as well as an inconsistency between the judge's stated preventive sentencing objectives and the omission of additional sanctions targeting the gambling website itself, suggesting a structural weakness in the enforcement of online gambling law in Indonesia.