Robert Go, Jakarta – Every Monday and Thursday at 5 pm, office clerk Danial Erwin makes his most important calls of the week – to his bookie, to check winning numbers.
Like millions of Indonesians, Danial is hooked on togel, short for toto gelap, an illegal 4-D game that piggybacks on Singapore Pools' lottery results. He bets 60,000 rupiah (S$12) or more each week – a substantial portion of his income – with the hope of striking it rich.
"My wife doesn't like it at all," he says. "She complains that I just waste money. Of course, I am careful and never spend too much."
More than a decade ago, Indonesian bettors did not have to "borrow" winning numbers from Singapore, but played the Jakarta government's own lottery games, or a togel system that used the government's winning numbers. The proceeds were supposedly used to fund the Suharto government's various social and development projects.
Betting is now illegal in the country but that does not stop low-income Indonesians from playing games of chance.
Bookies organise themselves in a pyramid scale. A handful of big bosses are on top, a small number of major players stay at the intermediate level, and a vast number of street-level bet-takers serve the millions of players. The racket is hugely popular and exists in all major cities, including Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan and Bandung.
While it is nearly impossible to get a precise figure on how much money is exchanged during any given week, one street bookie told The Straits Times that it reaches into billions of rupiah weekly at the top level.
"You wouldn't believe how much it's worth by looking at the small bet amounts. But there are lots of players, and it all adds up if you control the scheme," he said.
The bookie said he makes about a million rupiah each week – a good income. He keeps 25 per cent of the bets he takes and hands over the rest to his boss, who deals with a bigger agent above him in the pyramid.
Although togel is illegal, people say the police are actually involved in the game as well, either directly or by protecting the players involved for a fee. Another group also benefits from togel: The dukuns, or witch doctors, who give out auspicious numbers to desperate bettors.
Mr Danial said: "I won big once after consulting a dukun. He gave me four numbers and I put 1,000 rupiah on it. I think he only asked for a 5,000-rupiah payment, but I got back 2.5 million rupiah. My wife didn't get mad at me that time."
Bets start at 10 cents
The togel system is simple enough: it uses the last four digits of Singapore Toto's winning seven-digit numbers.
Players can place bets, ranging from 500 rupiah (10 Singapore cents) per number to more than 100,000 rupiah, on two, three or four digits. The odds are one to 60, one to 400 or one to 2,500, respectively.
On Mondays and Thursdays, the same drawing days as in Singapore, bookies pay out to winners and keep the losers' cash. There is also a togel game based on a Malaysian lottery drawn on Sundays.