The Impact of Online Gambling on Marital Harmony: A Case Study of Kembang Paseban Village, Batanghari Regency

Abstract

The rapid development of digital technology has expanded access to online gambling, generating complex social problems that extend beyond individual behavior and increasingly affect household stability. This study aims to analyze the factors underlying community involvement in online gambling and examine its effects on marital harmony in Kembang Paseban Village, Batanghari Regency, from the perspectives of Islamic law and Indonesian positive law. A qualitative case study design was employed, with data collected through in-depth interviews, direct observation, and documentation involving community members engaged in or affected by online gambling, including married couples, community leaders, and village officials. Data were analyzed through data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The study was conducted from June 2025 to May 2026, covering proposal development, data collection, data analysis, and report preparation. The findings indicate that involvement in online gambling is associated with economic pressure, easy access to smartphones and the internet, social-environmental influences, psychological factors, and limited understanding of religious and moral values. Online gambling undermines marital harmony through economic instability, debt accumulation, stress, emotional instability, deteriorating communication, loss of trust, family conflict, neglect of household responsibilities, and, in some cases, divorce. From the perspective of Islamic law, online gambling constitutes maisir, which is prohibited because of its potential to undermine wealth, intellect, and family continuity. These findings demonstrate that online gambling is a multidimensional problem that weakens household resilience and marital harmony. The study highlights the importance of strengthening family supervision, religious and moral education, digital literacy, community participation, and government policies aimed at preventing online gambling. It further contributes to Islamic family law scholarship by clarifying the social and familial consequences of online gambling within the context of Islamic and Indonesian legal perspectives.