Indonesia is a massive market of 273 million people, but all forms of gambling are illegal in the country. Despite this, illegal gambling activities are still widespread, especially when it comes to online gambling.
In June 2024, the Indonesian government launched a large-scale investigation and crackdown aimed at curbing the spread of online gambling and protecting the interests of citizens. This operation involved the coordinated efforts of multiple government departments, freezing thousands of bank accounts, arresting hundreds of suspects, and blocking a large number of illegal websites.
Here is a timeline of the investigation:
June 14, 2024- President Joko Widodo has established a special task force to combat online gambling, led by Moldiono Giordano. The working group, in cooperation with the National Armed Forces (TNI) and the National Police (Polri), is responsible for monitoring the misuse of payment systems as well as bank account transactions and preventing online gambling activities.
Mid-June 2024- The Indonesian Financial Transaction Reporting and Analysis Center (PPATK) discovered and froze approximately 5,000 bank accounts suspected of being linked to online gambling networks. Funds involved in these accounts will be transferred to the state unless claimed by the account holder within 30 days.
Late June 2024- The government has taken further steps to restrict access to illegal websites and has blocked thousands of accounts related to online gambling. In addition, the government has blocked nearly 900,000 online gambling-related content in the past five years.
June 30, 2024- The government announced that it had arrested more than 400 suspects involved in online gambling activities and blocked about 9,000 related websites.
The Indonesian government faces many challenges in combating online gambling, but through multi-departmental cooperation, strengthening of technical means, and public education, the government has shown a firm stance and determination. Although there may still be many difficulties in the future, the comprehensive governance measures of the Indonesian government are undoubtedly an important step in solving this problem.
