Is There a Casino in Bali? Gambling Rules for Tourists 2026

No. Bali has no legal casino, and neither does the rest of Indonesia. The government has not issued gambling licences since Government Regulation No. 9 of 1981, and since 2 January 2026 gambling offences fall under the new Criminal Code (KUHP, Law No. 1 of 2023). For you as a visitor that means card games for money, slot machines, lottery tickets (togel) and online casino sites are all illegal here, including inside a private villa. Rules in this article were checked in October 2026.

What is the legal basis now?

The new KUHP was enacted on 2 January 2023 and took effect three years later. Gambling sits in two articles:

• Article 426 (offering or running gambling without a licence): up to 9 years in prison or a category VI fine, which is up to Rp2 billion.
• Article 427 (taking part in unlicensed gambling): up to 3 years in prison or a category III fine, up to Rp50 million.

Before 2026, police used the old code: Article 303 for organisers (up to 10 years or a Rp25 million fine) and Article 303 bis for players (up to 4 years or Rp10 million). Cases from before 2 January 2026 may still be tried under the old articles, so you will see both in the news.

Online gambling adds another layer. The Electronic Information and Transactions Law (second amendment, Law No. 1 of 2024), Article 27(2) with Article 45(3), punishes anyone who distributes or makes gambling content accessible with up to 10 years in prison and/or a fine of up to Rp10 billion. The communications ministry (Komdigi) blocks online casino sites, and reaching them through a VPN does not change their legal status.

Have foreigners actually been convicted in Bali?

Yes, and the latest case is only a week old. On 7 October 2026 the Denpasar District Court sentenced 35 Indian nationals in an online gambling case, according to a 12 October 2026 report by the court news portal Dandapala. It began with a Bali Police cyber patrol in February 2026 that flagged an Instagram account promoting online gambling, run from a villa in Tibubeneng, North Kuta. The coordinator and the account admin got 2 years 6 months, the other 33 got 2 years each, under Article 426(1)(a) of the new KUHP. The judges also ordered all of them deported after serving their sentences and banned from re-entering Indonesia.

The lesson: for foreigners, a gambling case rarely ends with a fine. A criminal conviction almost always leads to deportation and an entry ban.

What about tajen (cockfighting)?

This is the grey area that confuses visitors most. During temple ceremonies a cockfight can be held as tabuh rah, a blood offering that is part of the ritual and limited to a few rounds. Once money is wagered and people turn up to bet, it becomes tajen, and police treat it as gambling. Raids on tajen with organisers charged under the gambling articles are reported regularly, and spectators who place bets can be caught too. The full picture is in Can Tourists Watch a Cockfight (Tajen) in Bali?.

Cards at the villa or a football bet with friends?

The law looks at a game of chance played for stakes. Poker for real money at a villa meets that test even among friends. We found no reports of tourists arrested over small private bets, but the risk is real if neighbours, villa staff or a social media post draw attention; the case of the 35 foreigners above started on Instagram. Playing with chips or points that cannot be exchanged does not involve a stake. Government-licensed prize draws, such as shopping promotions, are not gambling either.

If a hotel or beach club advertises a "casino night", ask whether the chips can be swapped for cash or valuable prizes. If they can, it is safer to sit it out.

Where are the nearest legal casinos?

• Singapore: Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa, about 2.5-3 hours by air from Ngurah Rai Airport. Minimum age 21, passport required. Foreign visitors enter free; Singapore citizens and permanent residents pay an entry levy.
• Malaysia: Resorts World Genting in the Genting Highlands, the country's only licensed casino, about an hour's drive from Kuala Lumpur. Bali to Kuala Lumpur is roughly a 3-hour flight. Minimum age 21.
• Macau: Asia's largest casino hub, usually reached via Hong Kong. Minimum age is also 21.

Age limits and entry rules are set by each country's regulator and can change, so check the casino's official site before booking. One gap in the data: enforcement against individual players in Bali is rarely reported in detail, so it is hard to say how often ordinary tourists get caught. What the October 2026 verdict does show is that Denpasar courts are already applying the new KUHP gambling article to foreigners.