Indonesia has stepped up its nationwide crackdown on online gambling by blocking thousands of bank accounts linked to illegal betting and cutting social welfare payments to families found gambling online. Authorities said the move aims to protect citizens, keep the economy stable, and stop the growing social and financial harm caused by gambling.
The Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi), together with the Financial Services Authority (OJK), announced that 23,929 bank accounts connected to online gambling have been frozen. Minister Meutya Hafid said on Tuesday, “This action is part of our firm commitment to eradicate online gambling, which harms the public and the economy. We want to ensure that all financial flows from illegal activities like online gambling are completely cut off.”
Hafid said the accounts were detected through online monitoring and reports from the public. She added that the effort involves coordination among several government agencies to stop the movement of money between gamblers and gambling operators.
The minister urged citizens to report suspicious gambling activities. Hafid said, “We encourage the public to continue reporting suspicious sites, accounts, or activities related to online gambling.” Complaints related to online gambling can be filed via aduankonten.id for content issues and cekrekening.id for bank accounts believed to be involved in gambling activities.
Earlier this month, OJK asked banks to block 27,395 accounts suspected of being used for gambling, up from 25,912 the previous month. OJK’s Chief Executive of Banking Supervision, Dian Ediana Rae, said, “In addressing the extensive economic and financial impact of online gambling, OJK has instructed banks to block approximately 27,395 accounts.”
Banks were also directed to close accounts linked to National Identity Numbers (NIK) connected to gambling and to strengthen checks on unusual transactions.
The government is also taking steps to clean up Indonesia’s digital space. From 20 October 2024 to 16 September 2025, Komdigi removed more than 2.8 million pieces of harmful online content, most of which were related to gambling.
Alexander Sabar, Director General of Digital Space Monitoring, said, “More than 2.8 million items have been taken down from Indonesia’s digital space, with 2.1 million of them linked to online gambling.”
Most of the content came from websites (1,932,131 items), file-sharing platforms (97,779), Meta (94,004), Google (35,092), X (17,417), Telegram (1,742), TikTok (1,001), Line (14), and app stores (3).
Sabar said the goal is to maintain a “clean, safe, healthy, productive, and compliant” online environment. He added that Komdigi is testing a new Content Moderation Compliance System (SAMAN) to ensure that all platforms follow Indonesian rules. The pilot project will end next month.
He encouraged citizens to report gambling and other harmful content through official complaint channels.
Authorities are also keeping a close eye on law enforcement officers. At Poso Police Station in Central Sulawesi, senior officers from the Professional and Security Section (Propam) inspected police staff phones on 14 October to check for gambling activity.
A Propam executive said, “We want to ensure that no members of the Poso Police are involved in online gambling […] or other behaviour that could tarnish the image of the National Police as an institution.”
During the inspection, officers’ apps, financial transactions, and social media were checked. No violations were found, and staff cooperated with the process.
Similar checks will take place in other regions, and the prison department has announced that it will conduct the same inspections for guards and other employees.
The Ministry of Social Affairs has suspended welfare payments to families found gambling online. Minister Saifullah Yusuf, also known as Gus Ipul, said that out of nine million gambling users, around 600,000 were welfare recipients.
“More than 300,000 beneficiaries can no longer receive assistance. If it is proven they were engaged in online gambling, their benefits will be terminated immediately,” Saifullah said.
Officials noted that in some cases, elderly people or schoolchildren were not the gamblers but had their bank accounts or phones used by relatives. A welfare worker in South Sulawesi explained, “If one family member commits a crime, the entire family is implicated. If the […] system detects online gambling, it automatically orders payments to stop.”
In the first half of 2025, 132,557 welfare recipients were linked to gambling transactions worth IDR 542.5 billion ($32.77 million). Many used e-wallets or accounts from major banks such as BCA, BRI, BNI, and Mandiri. In West Java alone, 49,431 people spent IDR 199 billion from social funds on gambling.
The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) traced misuse of welfare money across several provinces. Deputy Minister Agus Jabo Priyono said strict sanctions have been approved to ensure that public assistance goes only to those eligible.
Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka urged welfare recipients to use aid responsibly. “Don’t use it for gambling. I’ve said this many times at every BSU distribution location,” he said. Citizens can report irregularities using the Cek Bansos app.
Authorities said that the crackdown on online gambling is ongoing. Between 2017 and June 2025, gambling platforms handled IDR 976.8 trillion ($61.8 billion) across 709 million transactions.
Senior Commissioner Ferdy Saragih from the Cybercrime Directorate said, “There is strong suspicion that the funds originated from online gambling activities. This will not be the last. Police will continue pursuing the perpetrators and networks behind these practices.”
Police are also focusing on people using VPNs to access gambling sites. The Financial Intelligence Unit reported that gambling deposits through e-wallets reached IDR 1.6 trillion ($101.3 million) in early 2025. E-wallet company DANA said stronger fraud checks had cut gambling activity by 80 percent.
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