"Mr. President's order (for the ministry) is to eradicate online gambling. I ask to apply to maintain integrity, do the duty as assigned, and the third, loyalty," he noted in a press release received here on Tuesday.
According to Patria, online gambling is increasingly concerning owing to its negative impact on people.
The deputy minister pointed out that the circulation of online gambling money reached Rp347 trillion, or around US$21.3 billion, per year, whose victims were mostly those from the lower strata of society, ranging from housewives, truck drivers, online motorcycle taxi (ojol) drivers, to snack traders.
Patria said their lives were ruined due to gambling.
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Meanwhile, he commended the effort to hinder the circulation of online gambling sites. He also reminded to never stop endeavors to eradicate online gambling.
"We appreciate what has been done so far. I know (how) the fight with online gambling is, and we so far only block and take down, but we actually have greater power to hinder the development of online gambling," he stated.
The government will form an integrated task force to eradicate online gambling, he remarked.
On a separate occasion, Minister of Communication and Informatics Budi Arie Setiadi explained that formation of the task force aimed to solve online gambling problems more thoroughly by intensifying coordination among the involved ministries and agencies.
"Gambling is illegal, so strengthening measures (to eradicate it) needs to be done effectively," Setiadi said, after attending an internal meeting led by President Joko Widodo regarding Indonesia's online gambling emergency on Thursday (April 18).
In this case, he said, the ministry will focus on taking down online gambling sites, while the enforcement aspect will be handed over to law enforcement authorities.
Related news: Govt to form integrated task force to eradicate online gambling
Translator: Fathur R, Kenzu
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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