The Indonesian government is intensifying its crackdown on online gambling. This comes after revelations that hundreds of thousands of social assistance recipients may be diverting funds to illegal betting activities. Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf states that the PPATK (Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center) has flagged 603,999 aid-receiving households.
The government of Indonesia is stepping up its crackdown on online gambling. The move follows reports that hundreds of thousands of social aid recipients may be using their funds for illegal betting. Initially, they suspected 656,543 families of involvement. However, after eliminating duplicate records, that number settled at just under 604,000.
In a public statement on July 20 this year, Minister Yusuf addressed the issue. As reported by Radio Republik Indonesia, he said that data matching between social aid beneficiaries and suspected online gamblers initially identified 656,543 families. After deduplication, the number stands at 603,999 families.
228,048 families did not receive help in the second quarter of the year of those flagged. Nonetheless, 375,951 are still active beneficiaries. They will also undergo more evaluation in the third quarter. The DTSEN is now identifying and monitoring the flagged individuals.
More revelations from PPATK highlight the gravity of the issue. It has been disclosed by Spokesperson M. Natsir that 571,410 individuals among aid recipients made 7.5 million gambling transactions amounting to Rp857 billion or US$57.2 million in the previous year. This is using data from a single bank alone. He cautioned that the number could rise significantly if investigators include all financial institutions in the probe.
Natsir stated that authorities suspect 571,410 of them of being online gamblers. He warned that using social funds for gambling goes beyond administrative failure. It may also amount to the criminal misuse of state funds.
