Minister Tito Issues Ultimatum: Civil Servants Caught Gambling Online Face Demotion and Criminal Charges

Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian has issued a stern ultimatum to all civil servants (ASN) regarding online gambling, warning that those caught will face sanctions including demotion and criminal charges. The statement was made during his visit to the IPDN campus in Jatinangor, Sumedang, West Java, on Wednesday.

Tito explained that penalties would be applied according to the severity of the violation, ranging from verbal and written reprimands to demotion, rank reduction, and career suspension. He emphasised that if a case meets the criminal threshold, it will be handed over to law enforcement authorities. “If they commit legal violations, including gambling, they must be prosecuted. Whether they are PPPK or PNS, they are lawbreakers,” he stated.

The minister underscored that the regulation applies uniformly to all state apparatus, who are expected to uphold the law and maintain public trust. He insisted that gambling, particularly online gambling, carries criminal consequences and cannot be tolerated, especially among government employees.

This warning follows a disclosure by the West Java Provincial Civil Service Agency (BKD) that 2,663 employees within the provincial government are currently under investigation for suspected involvement in online gambling. The data, sourced from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK), includes 419 permanent civil servants (PNS) and a significant number of contract-based government employees (PPPK), with part-time PPPK forming the largest group. The investigation is a follow-up to PPATK findings that recorded 2,694 ASN in West Java as having been flagged for online gambling activities throughout 2025.