Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) on January 26 instructed banks to freeze more than 30,000 accounts suspected of being involved in online gambling activities, marking the latest move in stepped-up efforts to crack down on a growing form of financial crime in the Southeast Asian country.
OJK’s Chief Banking Supervisor Dian Ediana Rae said from September 2023 to December 2025, OJK ordered banks to block more than 30,000 accounts indicated to be linked to online gambling.
Beyond responding to blocking requests, banks are actively conducting web crawling to identify accounts used for transactions on online gambling platforms. The findings are coordinated with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs for further action, he said.
Online gambling perpetrators no longer rely solely on bank accounts, but also use other payment instruments, including e-wallets, to carry out transactions, he said. In response, OJK has instructed banks to enhance their use of information technology, including conducting cyber patrols on customer accounts and refining alert parameters to enable earlier detection of online gambling transaction patterns.
In addition to strengthening internal systems, OJK is encouraging the exchange of data and information on emerging online gambling methods through platforms managed by regulators and financial institutions.
The Indonesian government is also continuing to strengthen inter-agency coordination to improve the effectiveness of monitoring online gambling transactions and eradicate online gambling practices to protect the public, OJK said.
Data from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) show a decline in online gambling transactions in 2025. Through the third quarter of 2025, the turnover of online gambling funds reached 155 trillion IDR, or about 9.24 billion USD, down 57% from 2024./.
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