Indonesia: Police say Boxkia "gacha" gambling site ran since 2024 with about Rp2 billion a month in turnover

Indonesia's national police say the Boxkia.com website, which they allege offered online gambling through a "gacha"-style spin-for-prizes game, had been operating since 2024 and turned over about Rp2 billion a month. Four people accused of running it were arrested in West Jakarta on 20 and 21 October and face online gambling and money laundering allegations; police say players paid in through channels including QRIS, BRIVA virtual accounts and the USDT stablecoin.

Turnover disclosed

Deputy Director of Cyber Crime at the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim Polri), Kombes Pol. Setyo Koes Heriyanto, said the operation had been running for roughly two years. "Based on their statements, they are estimated to have started this activity in 2024. And their turnover is around 2 billion [rupiah] per month," he said in remarks quoted by Merdeka and Liputan6 on Friday, 23 October 2026.

The figure had not been part of the police's first announcement of the case on 21 October, which AskSpinner covered alongside Bank Indonesia's new measures against QRIS misuse. Police have still not disclosed player numbers.

How the site allegedly worked

According to Cyber Crime Director Brigjen Pol. Suhermanto, investigators came across Boxkia.com during online patrols. Liputan6 reported that the inquiry began on Friday, 11 September 2026.

"In the game mechanism, players use a virtual currency to spin in order to obtain prizes in the form of goods, such as items, action figures or cards," Suhermanto said in a statement carried by the state news agency Antara. Those goods could then be resold for a profit, he said. Police are treating that structure, in which players pay to spin for prizes that can be turned back into money, as online gambling.

For deposits, the operators offered BRIVA accounts (Bank Rakyat Indonesia's virtual account service), the USDT crypto asset and QRIS payments, according to Suhermanto. Player withdrawals were allegedly paid out through Bank Permata and BRI accounts using the DOKU payment service, Antara and Detik reported.

Four suspects, four roles

The case is registered under police report LP/A/37/IX/2026/SPKT.DITTIPIDSIBER/BARESKRIM POLRI, dated 18 September 2026. Under that report, investigators named and detained four suspects, according to Liputan6 and Merdeka:

• Jhiazi Chen, identified by police as a Chinese national, is alleged to have been the controller and person in charge of operations at the Boxkia office, assigning work to staff and promoting the site online. Jhiazi Chen was arrested at around 00:30 WIB on 21 October at an apartment in Kembangan, West Jakarta. Police seized seven BCA ATM cards, seven ATM cards from Chinese banks and four mobile phones at the time of that arrest.
• Farhan Akbar Djafar allegedly worked in Boxkia's creative division, editing content, producing graphic design and posting promotional material on social media, including Instagram and TikTok. Farhan Akbar Djafar was arrested at around 22:00 WIB on 20 October near a McDonald's outlet at Ciputra, Kembangan; police seized an iPhone 11.
• Alfi Sena Pradipta allegedly worked as customer service and administrator, boosting user engagement to lift the site's ranking. Alfi Sena Pradipta was arrested at around 00:30 WIB on 21 October at an apartment in Kembangan; police seized an Itel phone and a Redmi Note 8.
• Lesica allegedly handled finance, including payroll, bookkeeping and the processing of player deposits and withdrawals. Lesica was arrested at around 01:00 WIB on 21 October at an apartment in Kembangan; police seized an iPad and an iPhone 15.

Gambling and money laundering allegations

The suspects face allegations under Article 27(2) of Law No. 1 of 2024, the second amendment to the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law, or Article 426 in conjunction with Article 20, as well as Article 607(1)(a), (b) and (c), of Law No. 1 of 2023, the new Criminal Code (KUHP), covering online gambling, participation in a crime and money laundering. AskSpinner explained earlier this week how the ITE Law, rather than the new Criminal Code, now carries the heaviest online gambling penalties.

Suhermanto said investigators were still questioning the suspects and witnesses, running digital forensics on seized devices and applying to freeze accounts allegedly used to run the site. Antara reported that police also plan to search the Boxkia office, which reports place at Ciputra International Tower 3 in West Jakarta.

"Eradicating online gambling is one of the National Police Chief's priority programmes," Suhermanto said, adding that police would keep tracing the operating systems, transaction channels and fund flows linked to the activity. Detik reported that the drive follows instructions from National Police Chief Gen. Suyudi Ario Seto.

None of the four has been tried, and the allegations have not been tested in court.

Why it matters

The case shows Indonesian police applying gambling law to a "gacha"-style mystery-prize product, where the stake is paid in virtual currency and the payout comes as resellable goods rather than cash. It also adds a turnover figure to a case that sits at the centre of Indonesia's push on payment rails: QRIS was one of Boxkia's deposit channels, announced on the same day Bank Indonesia said it would tighten merchant checks and monitoring across the QRIS ecosystem. Police have not said whether any payment service provider involved in the Boxkia flows is under investigation. The enforcement pattern sits alongside other recent Indonesian online-gambling cases, including prosecutors seeking five years for a customer-service worker who fled the Philippines and Cambodia for Bali.