"West Java recorded 49,431 recipients involved in online gambling, with transactions amounting to Rp199 billion [US$12.2 million]," Yusuf said after a limited meeting with the chief of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) on Thursday.
He added that Central Java followed with 18,363 recipients and transactions totaling Rp83 billion, while East Java recorded 9,771 recipients with Rp53 billion in transactions.
In Jakarta, 7,717 individuals were found to have misused their social assistance funds for online gambling, with a total transaction value of Rp36 billion.
Meanwhile, Banten recorded Rp25 billion in gambling transactions from 5,317 aid recipients, and Lampung saw Rp18 billion in transactions involving 5,039 individuals.
At the district and city level, Bogor district had the highest number of recipients involved, with 5,497 individuals and Rp22 billion in transactions. It was followed by Surabaya city, with 1,816 individuals and Rp9 billion, and Central Jakarta with 1,754 individuals and Rp9 billion.
Nationwide, a total of 132,557 social aid recipients were found to have engaged in online gambling during the first half of 2025, with transactions reaching Rp542.5 billion, based on the tracing of beneficiary bank accounts by PPATK.
"This reveals a pattern we must be vigilant about. We want the assistance to be on target and not misused for gambling," Yusuf emphasized.
The Ministry of Social Affairs is currently verifying and matching the account data of beneficiaries to ensure that aid from the Family Hope Program (PKH) and the food assistance program is distributed only to eligible individuals and used as intended.
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Translator: Prasetyo, Kenzu
Editor: Anton Santoso
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