Indonesia has blocked 3,796,902 online gambling sites between July 17, 2023 an d October 9. This is in an effort to eliminate illegal activities and foster a more secure internet for its residents.
The Communication and Information Technology Ministry said it has blocked 31,751 gambling-related links on educational institution websites. It also blocked 31,812 links on government sites.
According to Minister Budi Arie Setiadi, these actions are important.
He said that the blocking is part of their ongoing cyber patrols. The Minister added that it is crucial to protect vulnerable groups, especially young people, from the dangers of online gambling.
Working with Bank Indonesia, the ministry has taken action against 573 e-wallet accounts linked to gambling sites. It has also requested the Financial Services Authority (OJK) to block 7,599 bank accounts connected to these activities.
He reported that they have submitted at least 21,000 gambling-related keywords to Google and over 5,793 to Meta as part of their strategy.
CNN Indonesia recently reported that a 36-year-old father in East Jakarta was arrested for selling his 11-month-old child for 15 million rupiah or around 955 US dollars to buy two new mobile phones for daily use and for online gambling.
The child’s mother alerted authorities after finding out what had happened previously. She works in Balikpapan, Kalimantan Timur.
PPATK or The Financial Transaction Reporting and Analysis Centre revealed that online gambling transactions in the republic reached 100 trillion rupiah or about 6.4 billion US dollars in the first quarter of 2024.
