**Indonesia’s Renewed Effort to Combat Online Gambling Under New Leadership**
With Pabrowo Subianto at the helm as Indonesia’s president, the nation has reinvigorated its efforts to abolish online gambling, which is prohibited in the world’s most populous Muslim country.
Following Subianto’s election in October, the ministry of communication and informatics was restructured and renamed the [ministry of communication and digital affairs](https://www.komdigi.go.id/). Meutya Hafid was appointed to lead this newly rebranded ministry.
Hafid swiftly introduced a 100-day plan focusing on four key objectives: protecting personal data, digitalizing government services, eradicating online gambling, and creating a child-friendly internet environment.
The newly formed ministry is utilizing artificial intelligence to identify and eliminate illegal gambling content, Hafid confirmed. She stated that since October 20, approximately 380,000 sites have been shut down, which includes around 300,000 unlawful IP addresses and numerous advertisements on platforms such as Meta, Google, and Twitter.
Additionally, the government has engaged in “special cyber-patrols” to identify sites and applications harboring gambling content, the new minister reported.
Juda Agung, the deputy governor of Bank Indonesia, emphasized that both banks and non-banking payment service providers must implement fraud detection systems to spot accounts used for online gambling activities.
**A Pervasive Issue in Indonesia**
Despite its illegality, the popularity of gambling persists in Indonesia. According to [ABC Asia](https://www.abc.net.au/asia/indonesia-has-a-huge-online-gambling-problem/104179856), gamblers in Indonesia lost RP327 trillion (£16.2 billion/€19.5 billion/$20.5 billion) in 2023, which equates to approximately 1.5% of the country’s annual GDP.
Reports from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) reveal that online gambling has generated RP283 trillion this year, with deposits totaling RP43 trillion, much of which exits the country.
The minister of community empowerment, Muhaimin Iskandar, described online gambling as a “social disaster,” as reported by [Antara News Agency](https://en.antaranews.com/news/336237/online-gambling-root-of-new-poverty-in-indonesia-minister). He noted that gamblers become “victims of online fraud.”
“If we fail to address both the causes and consequences of online gambling, this issue will escalate poverty rates,” he remarked.
Education minister Satryo Soemantri Brodjonegoro highlighted that approximately 960,000 online gamblers in Indonesia are high school and college students, with an estimated 80,000 under the age of 10.
**A Dual Strategy Emphasizing Digital Literacy**
Iskandar outlined the government’s dual strategy to eliminate online gambling. The approach involves closely monitoring internet traffic and financial activities, paired with boosting public awareness and digital literacy across Indonesia.
“We must educate the public to eradicate this deceptive practice,” Iskandar urged. “The grassroots community, in particular, should not be misled by such schemes.”