Indonesia intensifies preventive actions against online gambling

“We have rolled out an SMS blast, for instance. The other measures include approaching community figures,” said Usman Kansong, the ministry’s Director General of Information and Public Communication, on Tuesday.

He explained that, as part of the Online Gambling Eradication Task Force, the ministry has been continuously disseminating information on the dangers of online gambling to the public. The ministry is also discussing online gambling prevention programs with school administrators this week.

Last week, Kansong said, the task force had brought together interfaith figures to urge them to incorporate narratives of online gambling prevention into their sermons or speeches.

He added that the ministry needs support from the National Armed Forces (TNI) and the National Police (Polri) to echo anti-online gambling narratives.

Regional governments have also been urged to take part in this cause by installing banners imbued with anti-online gambling messages, Kansong said.

Regarding steps taken in the digital space, he underlined that the ministry has been broadcasting content about online gambling prevention on social media and creating a dedicated website, Bersama Stop Judi Online (s.id/bersamastopjudol).

The ministry has continued to restrict access to sites that display online gambling content. It has taken down almost 3 million pieces of online gambling-related content as of June 13.

The ministry has also asked Bank Indonesia to block 555 e-wallet accounts linked to online gambling activities and urged the Financial Services Authority (OJK) to freeze 5,779 similar bank accounts as of May 28.

Additionally, the ministry has dealt with 16,596 gambling page inserts on educational sites and 18,974 gambling page inserts on government sites from July 17, 2023, to June 13.

Kansong said that the government has sent warning letters to X, Telegram, Google, Meta, and TikTok following the finding of online gambling contents circulating on their platforms.

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