A Holistic Strategy to Keep Online Gambling at Bay
Jakarta (ANTARA) — Online gambling has become a common enemy for Indonesian society in recent years. Social media timelines are full of heartbreaking accounts of families being torn apart by online gambling.
In an extreme case in late 2024, a family died in Ciputat, South Tangerang, Banten, after its head of household was unable to withstand the pressure following bets and debts owed to an online gambling operator. This grim reality shows how destructive online betting can be, particularly when operators manipulate the systems behind it.
Despite the many real-life examples of the harm caused by online gambling, many people are still ensnared by this fraudulent practice, lured by promises of large, instant profits.
In response, the government under President Prabowo Subianto and Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka has spent the past two years working on a large scale and taking a holistic approach to curb online gambling and prevent it from claiming more victims.
The measures taken by the Red and White Cabinet include blocking access to gambling websites and apps, cutting off financial access, supporting people who have become addicted, and pursuing the operators behind the ecosystem.
The impact of these efforts is beginning to show in the financial data, with a decline in online gambling transactions monitored by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK).
An analysis for January to June 2026 found that online gambling funds turned over reached Rp86.82 trillion across 467.32 million transactions. Deposits totalled Rp22.05 trillion across 226.76 million transactions made through bank accounts, e-wallets and QRIS.
Compared with the first half of 2025, the value of online gambling funds turned over in the first half of 2026 fell by about 12.9 per cent, from Rp99.68 trillion to Rp86.82 trillion.
These efforts are continuing, but like weeds invading fertile land, the malicious actors behind online gambling keep looking for new ways to target Indonesians.