Minister Declares Child Online Gambling a National Priority, Warns of Secondary Criminal Behaviour

Minister of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA) Arifah Fauzi has affirmed that protecting children from the clutches of online gambling is now established as a national priority. This follows a serious alarm over the high rate of children’s exposure to digital gambling activities that threaten the future of the nation’s generation.

In a statement on Wednesday, Minister Arifah stated that the phenomenon of online gambling in children can no longer be considered merely an individual behavioural problem. She described this condition as a tangible form of digital exploitation.

“Children are an extremely vulnerable group because they do not yet have the cognitive maturity to understand digital manipulation or the long-term risks of gambling activities,” said Arifah Fauzi.

Exposure to online gambling has proven to destroy the living reality of children in Indonesia. Based on field findings, the grip of online gambling triggers mental disorders, extreme addiction, and a drastic decline in academic achievement. Even more worryingly, it triggers secondary criminal behaviour.

The PPPA Minister revealed that children caught in online gambling resort to stealing their parents’ money, lying, and even engaging with illegal online loans to fulfil their bets. The impact of online gambling is considered equivalent to the threat of pornography and addictive online games.

“If pornography damages morals and addictive games consume productive time, online gambling completes this with financial and social destruction from an early age,” she stressed.

Currently, the exposure rate of online gambling has reached 200,000 children. In response, the Ministry of Communication and Digital has been actively taking down content. On the other side, the PPPA Ministry is accelerating the implementation of the Presidential Regulation regarding the Roadmap for Child Protection in the Online Realm.