Should You Give Money to Child Beggars in Bali?

Better not, and in Bali the ban is written into regional law. Bali Provincial Regulation No. 5 of 2023 on public order, public peace and community protection, Article 21(2)(a), prohibits anyone from directing people or minors to beg and/or giving money to beggars, buskers and homeless people. Article 43(1) sets the penalty at up to 3 months' detention or a fine of up to Rp50 million. The regulation text was checked in October 2026 via the JDIH copy published on Pasal.id.

Can tourists actually be fined?

On paper, yes, because the regulation applies to "every person". In practice we found no reports of a tourist being fined for giving money in Bali. Satpol PP (the civil enforcement police) target beggars and the people coordinating them, while givers are usually just told not to. The provincial article also bundles the ban on sending children to beg and the ban on giving money into a single clause, so as far as we could find, how it applies to givers has not been tested in court.

What are the rules in Denpasar?

Denpasar is more explicit. City Regulation No. 1 of 2015 on public order, Article 40(3), bans anyone from giving money or goods to people who beg or busk, with a fine of up to Rp1 million. Because it mentions goods, handing over food counts too.

As of September 2026, Satpol PP Denpasar says its operations enforce City Regulation No. 10 of 2025 on public order, public peace and community protection. We could not access the full text of that new regulation, so its current penalty for givers is unverified. The direction is clear, though: Denpasar's Satpol PP chief Agung Ngurah Bawa Nendra urged the public not to give money to beggars, buskers and silver-painted street performers (ANTARA, 12 September 2026). For Badung and Gianyar we found no article that explicitly targets givers.

Who are the children at the intersections?

Enforcement is still routine in 2026. ANTARA reports that Satpol PP Denpasar removed 18 street clowns and beggars on 15 January 2026, 12 beggars from intersections on Jalan Gatot Subroto, Imam Bonjol, Sanur and Tohpati on 23 January 2026, and ran further sweeps in August and September 2026. For more than a decade, ANTARA and detikBali reports have shown the same pattern: many beggars picked up in Denpasar, Badung and Gianyar come from Karangasem Regency, especially the villages of Munti Gunung and Pedahan in Kubu district, and most are children brought by their mothers or managed by adults.

That is the main reason for the ban. Money handed over on the street makes begging with a child more profitable than sending the child to school, and children sent home often come back. Making a child beg can also count as economic exploitation of a child, banned under Article 76I of the Child Protection Law (Law 35/2014), with up to 10 years in prison under Article 88.

So how can you help properly?

• Shop or trek with the Muntigunung programme. The Munti Gunung community development programme was started in 2006 by the Swiss organisation Future for Children with Yayasan Dian Desa and now runs as community-based social enterprises: village-guided treks, processed cashews and rosella tea, and handmade hammocks (muntigunung.com active as of October 2026). Trek details are in Muntigunung Trekking, Karangasem: Price, Hours and Is It Safe?.
• Report suspected child exploitation. The SAPA 129 service of the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection takes reports by phone on 129 or WhatsApp 08111-129-129.
• Report to the local Satpol PP if you see a child begging at a dangerous intersection. Satpol PP Denpasar stresses that its complaints service, GARBASITA, is free of charge.
• Donate only through licensed organisations. Article 21(1) of the same provincial regulation requires groups collecting money or goods across regencies to hold a Bali provincial permit. Ask for it before giving to a "foundation" that approaches you on the street or the beach.

If a child asks you for money, a short, polite no is enough; there is no need to explain the regulation. The help you intended will go further through one of the channels above.