PPATK Notes Shift in Online Gambling Transactions to QRIS with Smaller Nominal Values

The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) has recorded a 20 per cent decline in the national turnover of online gambling funds throughout 2025. Despite the decrease in economic value, gambling operators have been detected altering their transaction patterns and methods by utilising the Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS) payment system and other digital financial instruments. Head of PPATK, Ivan Yustiavandana, stated that the turnover of online gambling funds fell from Rp359.81 trillion in 2024 to Rp286.84 trillion in 2025. The value of deposits also decreased from Rp51.3 trillion to Rp36.01 trillion. “After increasing every year since 2017, the decline in the turnover value of online gambling funds in 2025 is a historic record,” Ivan said in an official statement on Thursday (23/7). However, PPATK cautioned that online gambling activity remains high. In the first quarter of 2026, the turnover value still reached Rp40.3 trillion with total deposits of Rp10.59 trillion. PPATK analysis indicates that transaction patterns are now more frequently conducted with smaller nominal amounts. The most striking change is in the deposit method. Throughout 2025, 78.5 per cent of deposit frequency, or 305.31 million transactions, utilised QRIS, amounting to a value of Rp19.35 trillion. In the first quarter of 2026, this proportion increased further to 88.6 per cent. PPATK emphasised that QRIS is a legal payment instrument. The problem arises because online gambling networks exploit it to disguise transactions, necessitating stronger supervision of merchants and the payment system.