Online Gambling Transactions Continue to Be Uncovered, Payment Gateways Need Strengthening

Law enforcement authorities continue to crack down on online gambling. The latest development is that Bareskrim Polri has completed the investigation of an online gambling case with evidence worth Rp 55 billion. The payment gateway system needs to be strengthened to tightly seal off online gambling transactions.

The Directorate of Cyber Crime at Bareskrim Polri states that the case files implicating several suspects have been declared complete (P21) by prosecutors from the Attorney General’s Office of the Republic of Indonesia. The suspects and evidence worth Rp 55 billion will soon be handed over.

“After the case files are declared complete or P21, we will immediately proceed to stage II, which involves handing over the suspects and evidence to the public prosecutor. The total evidence to be handed over consists of money amounting to Rp 55 billion, which is the proceeds from online gambling activities,” said Kasubdit I of the Cyber Crime Directorate at Bareskrim Polri, Kombes Rizki Prakoso, in his statement.

Payment Gateways Need Strengthening

Nailul Huda, Director of the Digital Economy at the Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios), assesses that providers of payment gateway systems or digital payments must have technology capable of blocking the flow of transactions to accounts holding funds for online gambling platforms. Nailul believes that online gambling transactions must have their flow cut off.

“Transactions suspected to be online gambling must have their flow cut off. Payment system providers must have technology to block the flow of money to online gambling holding accounts,” said Nailul, as quoted by the Antara news agency, cited on Sunday (29/3/2026).

In addition, Nailul mentioned that payment system providers need to have more cautious electronic Know Your Customer (e-KYC) services. These services could utilise Regulatory Technology (Regtech) tools to block the flow of transactions to online gambling platforms.

According to him, one of the drivers of high public involvement in online gambling is the ease and speed of transactions through payment systems that are integrated with online gambling platforms.

“This is also supported by increasingly easy payment systems with sufficiently quick transactions, whether through bank accounts or digital wallets. The easier financial transactions are for top-ups and so on, I think the more online gambling players there will be,” said Nailul.

Nevertheless, he assesses that it is not entirely fair to blame the sophistication of digital payment systems and payment gateways amid the current acceleration of digital technology transformation.

According to him, the sophistication of digital payment systems has also brought positive impacts by making it easier for the public to transact anywhere and anytime, for example, in payments on e-commerce platforms.

“Positive transactions are also more numerous. So, do not blame the existing technology,” said Nailul.

Nailul assesses that the motives for the public playing online gambling include obtaining additional funds easily and quickly amid economic pressures on the middle to lower classes.

“What we see as the motive for people playing online gambling is to get money in an easy and quick way. Without overly expensive tools, with an easy process, it will certainly attract people who need additional income,” said Nailul.

Quoted from a CNBC Indonesia broadcast, Nailul stated that digital literacy among the Indonesian public is still low, especially with the emergence of online gambling advertisements on social media. This information, he said, must be restricted to stop the dissemination of information about online gambling to the public.

“The information is not restricted by the government. If we look at influencers, celebrities, and so on, even content creators on YouTube are advertising online gambling sites. This information must be restricted so that content creators, whether on social media or YouTube, are not allowed to advertise online gambling to anyone; that is one way to stop the spread of information about online gambling to the public,” he said.

Meanwhile, public policy observer and CEO of Narasi Institute, Achmad Nur Hidayat, assesses that online gambling only benefits the bookmakers but is increasingly destroying national stability. Achmad reveals that online gambling poses a real threat to households, workforce productivity, and other economic sectors.

“The big profits from this activity are only enjoyed by a handful of parties, namely the bookmakers, who have not yet been arrested by law enforcement authorities, while the negative impacts must be borne by the wider public,” said Achmad, as quoted by Antara.

Achmad conveyed that 80% of the 4.4 million online gambling perpetrators come from the middle to lower classes, which are the most economically vulnerable groups. The funds used for gambling flow out of the country because most gambling platforms are operated by foreign entities.

Achmad explained that many families are trapped in debt due to online gambling addiction. This creates multiple negative effects in other sectors, particularly workforce productivity.

“In many cases, this leads to work absenteeism, decreased productivity, and conflicts in the work environment. When this happens on a massive scale, companies in various sectors also feel the impact, both in the form of reduced operational efficiency and increased social costs,” he explained.

This situation also impacts the banking sector, such as rising non-performing loans and companies having to bear social costs due to decreased workforce productivity. Achmad said that the middle to lower classes become the main targets, which further worsens existing economic challenges.

“When the middle to lower class groups become the main targets, this creates an even wider inequality. This group is already facing various economic challenges, such as inflation, rising prices of basic necessities, and difficult access to quality education. Online gambling only worsens their situation, creating a poverty trap that is hard to escape,” he said.

Achmad emphasised the need for