"I tell those who set up online gambling sites that the Communication and Informatics Ministry will not back down to pursue and clean it up, and we will block (them all)
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Communication and Informatics Minister Johnny G. Plate stated that the ministry would not give up and work round the clock to put a halt to gambling activities in cyberspace.

"I tell those who set up online gambling sites that the Communication and Informatics Ministry will not back down to pursue and clean it up, and we will block (them all). The Communication and Informatics Ministry works 24 hours a day, three shifts, 365 days a year, non-stop, no breaks, we constantly pursue it," Minister Plate remarked at the Presidential Palace Complex, here on Thursday.

The minister said that before any action was taken by National Police Chief, General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, they had blocked several online gambling activities, a measure that aligned with the Constitutional mandate to clear the cyberspace of illegal activities. The ministry had reportedly blocked some 560 thousand online gambling accounts to date.


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"What is removed online is gambling conducted by platforms built domestically and platforms built overseas. Everything (is removed), and there are more (made in) Indonesia as compared to (foreign ones)," he pointed out.

He also reminded social media celebrities, or known as celebgrams, to not promote online gambling accounts or sites, as this is a form of violation of the law in the digital space.

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"Not only celebgrams, everyone, who promotes online gambling in Indonesia, (has violated) the law because it is done in the cyberspace," he emphasized.

Plate acknowledged the presence of several challenges in eradicating online gambling, such as the lack of awareness to free Indonesia's digital cyberspace of illegal activities.

"The challenge is only one, awareness. We have cleaned (the cyberspace) today, (but) after cleaning it up, they popped up again, cleaned again. What is lost is replaced by others, (we) continuously chase after them," the minister concluded.


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Translator: Indra Arief P, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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