Nowadays, developments in science and technology have led to the emergence of new ways of gambling, namely online gambling. This can happen because there are facilities and media that make it easier for people to access sites and applications that have elements of gambling.
In Indonesia, gambling has been prohibited in Article 27 paragraph 2 in conjunction with Article 45 paragraph 2 of the Electronic Information and Transactions Law (UU ITE). In addition, Article 303 of the Criminal Code imposes a maximum prison sentence of 4 years and/or a criminal fine of a maximum of IDR 10 million for gambling players.
Even though it has been banned by Indonesian law, online gambling is still populer found in society. Viewed from a legal sociology perspective, the series of criminal regulations that ensnare online gamblers have apparently not been effective in becoming a tool of social control over society.
The definition of legal effectiveness can be interpreted as a measurement of the value of the ability of a legal rule to achieve its objectives as determined by the purpose for which the law was created. The success of a legal rule in achieving its goals can be measured by looking at how the law succeeds in regulating people’s behavior.
1. Legal rule factors
Judging from the legal rules, the laws regulating gambling and online gambling have not yet been fully implemented effectively.
In terms of legal certainty, gambling law is considered to be less firm because there is uncertainty regarding the applicable law as regulated in the Criminal Code and the ITE Law and its amendments.
In terms of qualifications for legal sanctions, there are differences in the sanctions that can be imposed on violators on these two legal bases. The sanctions regulated in the Criminal Code are alternative, namely providing room for the perpetrator to choose between imprisonment or a fine.
There is also legal uncertainty regarding the substance of gambling regulations in the Criminal Code, namely the phrase “without obtaining permission” (Article 303 Paragraph 1). The phrase causes an interpretation as if the act of gambling that has been licensed is permitted in law. This is contrary to the provisions in Law Number 7 of 1974 concerning the Control of Gambling and the Criminal Code which states that all forms of gambling are crimes.
2. Factors supporting law enforcement
This factor discusses the facilities available to support law enforcement in achieving legal objectives. However, it is difficult for law enforcement actions to run smoothly without adequate means or facilities in the field of preventing and eradicating crime.
In the case of online gambling, adequate means may include digital forensics experts to search for evidence of online gambling acts and sophisticated technological tools. The existence of this facility really helps the government in carrying out its duties in reducing cases of online gambling.
Unfortunately, the available supporting facilities appear to be inadequate. The proof is, there are still gaps that are very easily accessible to the public in playing online gambling.
3. Community factors
Community factors refer to community participation in law enforcement actions. The form lies in the level of legal awareness and community compliance with applicable laws.
The existence of law enforcement alone is not enough to eradicate deviant phenomena in society. The public’s legal awareness of a deviant act and not committing it will make it easier to achieve the desired legal goals.
Sanctions against online gambling acts so far appear to only be able to impact public compliance. Without awareness, it will be difficult for people to comply with gambling prohibitions.
From the results of interviews, we found that there are still people who do not know about the existence of criminal regulations for online gambling. This shows people’s lack of legal knowledge and awareness which, with or without awareness, results in them breaking the law.
This means that societal factors are still not working in harmony with the goal to be achieved, namely to reduce online gambling.
4. Cultural factors
Cultural factors reflect the social values that apply in a society. This value can show which actions are good and which are bad.
These cultural factors will always be related to societal factors. Because, culture emerges from and is also implemented by society. For the law to be effective, these values need to be in harmony with applicable law.
So, even though there are regulations regarding online gambling, the public’s attitude towards complying with these regulations has not yet become a culture. because there are still other factors that are not entirely in line with the social values adhered to by society.
Recommendation
The rise of online gambling and the potential for danger to social life has encouraged the urgency of having stricter and clearer laws to regulate this matter.
The government needs to pay more attention to aspects of legal certainty regarding gambling regulations in Indonesian law so that they are in line with social values that view all types of gambling negatively.
The public also needs to participate in supporting law enforcement to prevent online gambling cases from continuing to increase and help the government eradicate online gambling crimes.