Over 163,000 Social Assistance Recipients in Central Java Indicated to be Involved in Online Gambling
More than 163,000 citizens receiving social assistance (bansos) in Central Java Province have been indicated to be involved in online gambling activities. The Central Java Social Services Department (Dinsos) is currently conducting data recapitulation and verification regarding these findings.
“Nationally, during the matching of phase 2 social assistance recipients (April-June) 2026, 1,494,652 data points were found to be linked to online gambling transactions. This data includes not only the identified social assistance recipients but also members of the same household detected performing gambling activities,” stated the Head of the Poverty Alleviation Division of the Central Java Social Services, Elliya Chairroh, during an interview on Tuesday (1/9/2026).
She added that, based on this data, the department has begun recording social assistance recipients in Central Java suspected of involvement in online gambling. “The current preliminary figure is 163,839. This number is still changing as not all data has been submitted to the provincial department,” she said.
Elliya explained that in documenting beneficiaries (KPM) suspected of online gambling, the Central Java Social Services is collaborating with district and city social services. She noted that the handling is being conducted in stages. The first step taken is the matching and identification between social assistance data and the data of suspected gambling transactions. This is followed by verification and clarification for beneficiaries included in the suspected list.
“Beneficiaries who feel they have never performed online gambling transactions can submit a rebuttal or clarification, including cases where their identity or account is suspected to have been used by another party,” said Elliya.
She revealed that clarification can be carried out through the mechanism available in the Next Generation Social Welfare Information System (SIKS-NG). Alternatively, individuals can contact local social assistants, village/sub-district governments, or district/city social services.
“If, after verification, it is discovered that a beneficiary is indeed engaging in online gambling activities, then the assistance may be suspended or they may be removed from the programme,” Elliya concluded.