During a working meeting with the Directorate General of Budget at the Ministry of Finance held by Commission XI of the House of Representatives (DPR) on Thursday (May 8, 2025), Golkar Party lawmaker Galih Kartasasmita proposed that Indonesia emulate certain Arab countries that operate casinos. The aim is to explore new sources of non-tax state revenue (PNBP).

"Excuse me, I don’t mean to be provocative, but the UAE is already moving toward operating casinos. Just imagine—Arab countries are running casinos, meaning their ministries and institutions are thinking out of the box," he stated.

In reality, the concept of casinos in Indonesia is not new. History shows that casinos were once officially opened in the country and generated significant income for the government. This occurred in 1967 in Jakarta.

At the time, Jakarta’s Governor, Ali Sadikin, was facing substantial challenges in developing the capital city due to a lack of budget for infrastructure and large-scale projects. To solve the funding shortfall, he opted to legalize gambling.

A Sinar Harapan newspaper article dated September 21, 1967, reported that this policy was aimed at eliminating illegal underground gambling. By localizing gambling to an official, regulated area, the government hoped to redirect gambling profits into state revenues.

It was recorded that illegal gambling generated approximately Rp300 million per year. Unfortunately, none of that money benefited the state—instead, it ended up in the hands of individuals protecting the gambling rings.

“That money fell into the hands of those who protected the gambling operations and never benefited the people,” stated the Jakarta Government to Sinar Harapan.

The government intended to use the revenue from legalized gambling to fund public infrastructure such as bridges, roads, schools, and hospitals. Consequently, on September 21, 1967, the Jakarta administration officially legalized gambling through Gubernatorial Decree No. 805/A/k/BKD/1967.

According to Kompas (November 23, 1967), the first legal casino in Jakarta—and in Indonesia—was established in Petak Sembilan, Glodok. It was a collaborative effort between the Jakarta Government and a Chinese national named Atang.

The casino operated daily without pause and was closely guarded by the police. However, it was exclusively open to Chinese nationals or people of Chinese descent in Indonesia. Other Indonesian citizens were not permitted to gamble there.

After opening, the Petak Sembilan casino attracted hundreds of visitors from cities across the country, including Medan, Pontianak, Bandung, and Makassar. These visitors helped generate millions of rupiah monthly for the government.

Based on official statistics from the gambling venue, Kompas reported that the government collected Rp25 million in taxes every month.

At the time, Rp25 million was a large sum. According to Nusantara newspaper (August 15, 1967), the price of gold was Rp230 per gram. Thus, Rp25 million could buy around 108.7 kilograms of gold.

In today’s terms, that amount of gold would be worth around Rp200 billion. This means that in the early days of casino legalization, the Jakarta Government earned billions of rupiah per month.

Eventually, another casino was also opened in the Ancol area, which further boosted the city’s income. Governor Ali Sadikin used these gambling proceeds to finance major development projects in Jakarta, including hospitals, bridges, and schools.

Over the ten years that gambling was legalized, Jakarta’s budget rose from tens of millions to Rp122 billion by 1977. This massive budget allowed the city to transform into a modern metropolis.

However, this policy came to an end in 1974 when the central government issued Law No. 7 of 1974, which banned all forms of gambling across Indonesia.