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Indonesia shifts strategy to combat online gambling

Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs Meutya Hafid announced on July 14 that the new strategy marks a shift from focusing primarily on blocking gambling websites to a more comprehensive approach targeting the entire criminal ecosystem.

Jakarta (VNA) – The Indonesian Government is shifting its strategy to combat online gambling and scams in a bid to strengthen efforts against these increasingly widespread forms of crime.

Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs Meutya Hafid announced on July 14 that the new strategy marks a shift from focusing primarily on blocking gambling websites to a more comprehensive approach targeting the entire criminal ecosystem. The strategy prioritises disrupting illicit financial flows, monitoring payment accounts and dismantling criminal networks through closer coordination among government agencies and law enforcement authorities.

According to the minister, her ministry (Komdigi) is working more closely with the Financial Services Authority (OJK), Bank Indonesia (BI), commercial banks and law enforcement agencies to cut off financial transactions linked to online gambling.

Komdigi has submitted information on more than 7,000 bank accounts suspected of involvement in online gambling activities to the OJK for investigation. To date, the ministry has requested action against nearly 43,000 suspected accounts, of which more than 32,000 have been frozen following verification.

In addition, a number of e-wallet accounts suspected of facilitating online gambling transactions have been referred to Bank Indonesia for further action.

Meutya also urged banks to strengthen their "Know Your Customer" (KYC) procedures to detect at an early stage accounts that could be exploited for illegal activities.

Since October 2024, Komdigi has taken down approximately 3.7 million websites and online content related to online gambling.

In late June, the Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) dismantled an international online gambling ring and charged 291 suspects, including 287 foreign nationals, for allegedly operating dozens of online gambling websites in Indonesia./.

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