Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid noted that blocking access to online gambling transactions is a more efficient deterrent, while the government also consistently blocks access to online gambling-related content on the internet.
"Content can be easily recreated, but it is difficult to reopen an account once blocked," she noted in a statement in Jakarta on Thursday.
To eradicate online gambling in the digital space, from October 20, 2024, to July 28, 2025, the ministry has blocked access to nearly 2.5 million items of negative content, with 1.7 million of them related to online gambling.
According to Hafid, the measure was taken based on findings from the system used by the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs and based on public complaints reported directly to the ministry through various channels.
"We obtained the data regarding the negative content from public complaints and our crawling system," she remarked.
The Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs welcomed the PPATK's step of tracing bank accounts suspected of being affiliated with online gambling, as well as encouraged the banking sector to apply a stricter verification process for their prospective consumers.
"Banks must be stricter so that the perpetrators cannot open an account again," the minister underscored.
Hafid further noted that through cross-sectoral collaboration between the ministry and PPATK, efforts to end the cycle of online gambling are expected to be carried out more effectively.
As part of its fight against online gambling, the Indonesian government is currently preparing a Government Regulation on Online Gambling Eradication, which will regulate several aspects, including mitigation efforts by internet service providers.
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Translator: Livia Kristianti, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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