25-6-2024 (JAKARTA) The Indonesian government has taken decisive action to sever access to websites suspected of facilitating such activities from Cambodia and Davao City in the Philippines.
According to a letter published on Monday, the Ministry of Communications has instructed the nation’s telecommunications service providers to terminate lines that could enable access to gambling sites operated from the aforementioned countries. This access blockade will remain in effect indefinitely.
Online gambling is strictly prohibited in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation. However, data from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) reveals that an estimated 3.2 million individuals, predominantly teachers and housewives, engage in online gambling activities. The state agency further reported that total accumulated transactions related to online gambling reached a staggering 600 trillion rupiah (US$36.5 billion) by the first quarter of 2024.
Alarmed by the escalating issue, Indonesian officials have grown increasingly concerned about the detrimental effects of online gambling, particularly in the wake of high-profile cases involving crime, suicide, and debts stemming from gambling addiction. President Joko Widodo has formed a dedicated police task force to crack down on illegal online gambling operations and has urged religious and community leaders to assist in reporting all forms of gambling activities.
Authorities have already taken significant steps, shutting down more than 2.1 million illegal online gambling sites and dismantling three online gambling syndicate sites valued at up to 1.4 trillion rupiah. Furthermore, the government has issued stern warnings to prominent platforms such as TikTok, Google, and Meta for displaying gambling advertisements, threatening fines if the practice persists.
The crackdown on overseas online gambling sites is part of a broader regional effort by Southeast Asian nations to combat the rapid spread of online gambling, which has been linked to various illicit activities, including fraud and human trafficking. The Philippines has banned the wildly popular online cockfighting, while Singapore is investigating some of its largest lenders amid allegations of money laundering related to online gambling.
