The center’s deputy for analysis and investigation, Danang Tri Hartono, said that most of the funds generated from the illegal activity are transferred overseas, depriving the Indonesian economy of vital circulation.
“The money goes abroad, leaving our economic circulation at a loss. That’s why multilateral diplomacy is so important,” he said here on Wednesday.
Hartono described online gambling as a silent killer of the national economy, noting that the practice offers no added value and instead causes harm to society.
PPATK reported that from 2017 to the first quarter of 2025, the value of online gambling transactions reached Rp927 trillion (around US$55.9 billion). The figure indicates that the illegal practice has become a systemic phenomenon involving people from all walks of life, he pointed out.
On the same occasion, the director of cyberspace monitoring strategy and policy at the Communication and Digital Affairs Ministry, Muchtarul Huda, stressed the importance of tech-based cross-sectoral collaboration to address the issue.
“We need an AI-based detection system, cross-institutional database integration, and international collaboration to suppress this massive practice,” Huda said.
He revealed that as of 2025, the ministry has taken down more than 7.2 million pieces of online gambling content.
The head of legal affairs at the National Banks Association (Perbanas), Fransiska Oei, said that the financial industry serves as the frontline in online gambling prevention by improving detection systems and reporting of suspicious accounts to PPATK.
“AI-based crawling technology can help accelerate the identification of bank accounts involved in online gambling networks,” Oei said.
Moreover, the industry is pursuing efforts to curb system abuse by irresponsible parties to maintain public trust.
“Digital transactions are the backbone of the future economy. Hence, the financial industry is committed to ensuring that the payment system remains secure, transparent, and aligned with ethical standards,” she remarked.
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Translator: Indra Arief Pribadi, Mecca Yumna
Editor: M Razi Rahman
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