The Indonesian government says it has taken down around 3.1 million gambling sites and promotional social media posts since October 2024, but admits virtual private network users are still accessing illegal betting platforms.
The minister of Communication and Digital (Komdigi) Meutya Hafid said whistleblowers had helped the government identify and block hundreds of thousands of websites, the media outlet CNN Indonesia reported.
Meutya said that, between October 22, 2024 and July 12 this year, members of the public had filed more than 156,000 reports via a special online gambling and fraud hotline.
Whistleblowers have also reported around 85,500 mobile phone numbers suspected of being used to promote gambling platforms and scams.
The minister said that ministries, public institutions, and the financial services industry were collaborating to help fight back against online gambling addiction.
“When we shut off access to [gambling] sites, we must also follow up by cutting the throat of the online gambling ecosystem; namely the associated bank accounts,” said the minister.
The government’s claims come amid gambling-related complaints from religious courts around the country. The courts say that online gambling addiction is fueling a nationwide wave of divorces.
Judges said gambling addiction is leading to strife among couples and resulting in a collapse of family finances.
Indonesian Gambling Crackdown: Gov’t Using AI Tools
Despite the ministry’s claims, financial regulators say that online gambling operators can draw on a range of technological tools to evade detection.
Dian Ediana Rae, the Financial Services Authority (OJK)’s Chief Executive for Banking Supervision, said online gambling networks have grown into high-tech, organized economic crime networks that effortlessly operate across borders, reported the Indonesian media outlet Kompas.
He said criminals use escrow accounts, e-pay platforms, the government’s own fast-pay QR code platform QRIS, and cryptocurrencies to launder cash.
“Online gambling crimes have a negative impact on Indonesia’s finances. They have also had an impact on the social lives of the public,” said Dian.
The OJK executive said financial providers must develop better data exchange systems. They should use these systems to share information with Komdigi, anti-money laundering agencies, the central bank, and police, Dian added.
Red tape, he said, hinders attempts to share data automatically or in real-time.
“The status quo leaves room for criminals to move funds and change their modus operandi,” Dian said.
Data-Sharing Will Help Fight Crime, Say Officials
The executive said that fighting online gambling involves more than “simply blocking sites or bank accounts.”
“It must encompass the entire chain, starting from early detection, data exchange, risk mitigation, transaction monitoring, asset blocking, reporting, and law enforcement,” said Dian.
Dian also said banks and regulators needed to make better use of analytical technology and artificial intelligence-powered tools.
He added that these tools could help detect gamblers who use VPNs and encrypted applications to navigate past government-imposed blocks.
“The OJK is now developing monitoring tools that will help us identify escrow accounts or mule accounts,” said Dian. “The tools can also unmask these accounts’ otherwise-anonymous owners, using AI.”
He added that the OJK blocked almost 3,000 more gambling-linked bank accounts in May, bringing the total blocked to date to over 36,000.
All forms of betting are illegal in Indonesia. The government embarked on a sweeping online gambling purge in 2023 and has since frozen millions of dollars worth of assets linked to web-based betting platforms.
On Saturday, police in Malang Regency arrested a 40-year-old man in the Turen Subdistrict, the Indonesian media outlet Malang Post reported.
Officers have accused the man of stealing gold jewelry worth IDR 18 million ($1,000) from a neighbor to fuel his addiction to online slots.
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The Indonesian government says it has taken down around 3.1 million gambling sites and promotional social media posts since October 2024, but admits virtual private network users are still accessing illegal betting platforms. The minister of Communication and Digital (Komdigi) Meutya Hafid said whistleblowers had helped the government identify and block hundreds of thousands of
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