Indonesia Intensifies Fight Against Online Gambling, Launches Three Operations

Jakarta. The Indonesian government has launched a campaign against online gambling, with the newly formed Task Force for Eradicating Online Gambling initiating three immediate operations.

On Thursday, Chief Security Minister Hadi Tjahjanto announced efforts aimed at eliminating online gambling through law enforcement actions.

“We will conduct three operations: firstly, freezing of accounts; secondly, cracking down on the buying and selling of accounts; and thirdly, enforcing actions against online game transactions via top-ups at minimarkets,” he outlined.

Highlighting the demographics affected, Hadi noted that victims of online gambling include not only adults but also children, constituting about 2 percent of all players. These players represent diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, with approximately 80 percent falling within the lower to middle-income brackets among the 2.37 million participants. Transaction values for this group range from Rp 10,000 ($0.61) to Rp 100,000. Conversely, data indicates that upper-middle-income bracket players transact between Rp 100,000 and Rp 40 billion.

The Indonesian National Police reported 1,988 cases of online gambling from 2023 to April 2024, involving 3,145 suspects.

The Online Gambling Task Force comprises various institutions, including the National Police, the Indonesian Military (TNI), and the State Intelligence Agency (BIN).

Separately, Anwar Abbas, Chairman of Muhammadiyah’s Central Board, emphasized the detrimental impacts of online gambling practices. Muhammadiyah is one of the largest religious organizations in the country.

“The adverse effects, such as murder, theft, robbery, divorce, domestic violence, poverty, and others,” he stated.

Recent incidents linked to online gambling have resulted in various criminal cases, including domestic violence incidents involving a police officer in East Java.

In May, a military officer in Papua tragically ended his life due to debts amounting to Rp 819.3 million incurred from online gambling.

Earlier this month in Mojokerto, East Java, a policewoman allegedly set fire to her police officer husband, resulting in his death, after discovering he had squandered his annual bonus on online gambling.

Meanwhile, fire and rescue officials in Jakarta successfully intervened to save three individuals attempting suicide in recent weeks due to gambling-related issues, including online gambling.

In January, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo signed amendments to the law governing electronic transactions and information. These amendments introduce new provisions targeting online gambling, defamation, dissemination of false information, and distribution of graphic content.

The revised Article 27 (2) explicitly prohibits online gambling, imposing severe penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment and fines of up to Rp 10 billion for operators found guilty of operating gambling sites.

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