PPATK: Prabowo Era Records Rp 286.84 Trillion Drop in Online Gambling Fund Turnover

The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) has recorded a significant decline in the turnover of online gambling funds in 2025. The drop during President Prabowo Subianto’s administration reached Rp 286.84 trillion, or 20 per cent, compared to the previous year. PPATK Head Ivan Yustiavandana revealed that the value of online gambling fund turnover had been increasing continuously since 2017, from Rp 2.01 trillion to reach Rp 359.81 trillion in 2024. For the first time since 2017, he said, the turnover value fell significantly in 2025 to Rp 286.84 trillion, a 20 per cent decrease from the previous year. Additionally, the deposit value also dropped from Rp 51.3 trillion in 2024 to Rp 36.01 trillion in 2025. “Every year since 2017 it has continued to increase, the decline in the value of online gambling fund turnover in 2025 is historic. This achievement is inseparable from President Prabowo’s firmness in leading the war against online gambling, and mobilising all elements of government to work simultaneously,” Ivan said in a written statement on Friday. However, Ivan noted that online gambling activity has not subsided. In the first quarter of 2026, the turnover value of online gambling funds reached Rp 40.3 trillion, with total deposits amounting to Rp 10.59 trillion. PPATK analysis shows that transaction patterns are becoming more frequent, dispersed, and tend to use smaller nominal amounts. Ivan further revealed a significant shift in deposit methods. Throughout 2025, the use of QRIS accounted for approximately 78.5 per cent of the total deposit frequency, or 305.35 million transactions with a nominal value of Rp 19.35 trillion. Meanwhile, deposits via bank transfers and electronic wallets recorded 83.79 million transactions, or about 21.5 per cent, with a nominal value of Rp 16.67 trillion. PPATK also found that online gambling networks are using shell companies, fictitious MSME or digital merchants, and merchant aggregators to manage sub-merchants and disguise gambling deposits as normal trade transactions. The agency identified a tendency to misuse technology-based non-bank financial services, such as payment gateways, remittance services, foreign exchange activities, technology-based funding services, digital voucher sales, and other digital financial services. According to Ivan, the patterns found include the use of affiliated entities, the utilisation of nominees as service users or merchants, and many-to-one and one-to-many transaction patterns to obscure the parties actually controlling and benefiting from the funds. “These findings are not intended to generalise all financial service industry players or technology-based providers. PPATK’s analysis is directed at specific transactions, accounts, merchants, and entities that show indicators of irregularity and links to suspected criminal offences,” Ivan stated. During the first semester of 2026, Ivan reported that PPATK carried out temporary transaction suspensions on 5,762 accounts indicated to be linked to online gambling, with the total funds in the accounts reaching Rp 1.07 trillion. “The results of the analysis and temporary suspensions are submitted to law enforcement officials for follow-up, including in the context of tracing and recovering assets resulting from criminal acts,” he explained. Ivan said PPATK’s coordination with law enforcement has also yielded concrete follow-ups. A total of 51 PPATK analysis reports related to transactions on 132 online gambling sites have been followed up by the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency into 27 police reports. The handling includes the blocking of transactions worth Rp 255.76 billion on 5,961 accounts, the seizure of Rp 142.02 billion from 359 accounts, and the confiscation of assets through various cases with an aggregate value of Rp 588.61 billion for the state. “One component of these achievements comes from a money laundering criminal case related to online gambling that has permanent legal force,” Ivan said. PPATK reported suspicious financial transactions to the Criminal Investigation Agency in 2024, which were then followed up through investigation, prosecution, and trial processes. On 13 March 2026, the West Jakarta District Attorney’s Office deposited approximately Rp 530.43 billion, consisting of confiscated state money and fines, into the state treasury. “This case demonstrates the importance of continuity in handling from financial intelligence to asset recovery,” he remarked. Ivan emphasised that cross-sector synergy has been further strengthened since 20 October 2024. Up to 12 July 2026, the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs has handled around 3.7 million sites and content containing online gambling. “The handling of digital content continues to be synergised with the cutting off of fund flows, supervision of payment systems, and law enforcement against online gambling operators,” he said. However, he reminded the government and law enforcement not to be complacent with the first-ever decline in online gambling turnover value in 2025. “The decline in transaction value must not make us careless. When transaction frequency increases and modes shift to increasingly complex financial instruments and ecosystems, it shows that the perpetrator networks continue to adapt,” he stressed.