Minister Meutya: Eradication of Online Gambling Must Be Comprehensive

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Communication and Digital (Menkomdigi) Meutya Hafid has asserted that the eradication of online gambling (judol) must be carried out comprehensively by targeting all parts of its ecosystem.

“The eradication of online gambling must be done thoroughly. It is not enough, nor should it stop, merely at cutting off access to sites, but the entire ecosystem,” she said at the OJK Banking Forum 2026 at the Bank Indonesia Office Complex, Jakarta, on Tuesday.

According to her, efforts to eradicate online gambling should include cutting off access to gambling sites and content, taking action against accounts related to gambling, improving early detection, and strengthening collaboration among relevant stakeholders. The Ministry of Communication and Digital has cut off access to approximately 3.7 million sites and content related to online gambling from 20 October 2024 to 12 July 2026.

Meutya stated that site blocking must be accompanied by efforts to sever the flow of funds related to gambling activities. “Site blocking must also be accompanied by amputating the neck of the online gambling ecosystem, namely the collector accounts. We consider collector accounts to be the neck, and of course, this must also be eradicated,” she said.

Therefore, collaboration with the Financial Services Authority (OJK) and the banking sector must be enhanced to take action against accounts used to store funds related to gambling. Meutya conveyed the importance of detecting and taking action against problematic accounts in efforts to tackle online gambling.

“We believe that if access termination is also supported by the closure of problematic accounts, it would be even better if early detection is carried out, so there are not many reports of problematic accounts,” she said.

Meutya stated that coordination with law enforcement officials will also be strengthened in an effort to tackle online gambling comprehensively, from prevention and cutting off the flow of funds to the legal process against perpetrators. “So the entire ecosystem is under attention, starting from prevention through sites, then in the middle, payments are assisted by the OJK and banking, followed by law enforcement,” she said.