OJK urges families to be first line of defense against online gambling

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Families play a key role as the main sentinels against online gambling, said Friderica Widyasari Dewi, a consumer protection official at the Financial Services Authority (OJK).

She emphasized the need for joint efforts to eradicate online gambling, with families serving as the initial line of defense against it.

“We all have a duty to prevent more people from becoming victims of online gambling,” she said after attending a talk show on financial education in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Dewi noted that families whose members are trapped in online gambling must restrict their access to gambling platforms to prevent addiction.

The OJK has been supporting efforts to eliminate online gambling, one of which is closing down bank accounts linked to the practice, she said.

On the same occasion, the head of the OJK board of commissioners, Mahendra Siregar, pointed out that the community needs to raise its guard against risks in the digital finance sector.

He said that mothers have a key role in strengthening such vigilance. Mothers who have sufficient financial literacy can have a multiplier effect on efforts to prevent the risks of crimes in cyberspace.

For that reason, he said, the OJK is carrying out the Bundaku (My Mother) program, which is aimed at improving financial literacy through the empowerment of mothers and women.

On June 14, President Joko Widodo signed a presidential decree establishing the Online Gambling Eradication Task Force. This task force, chaired by Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Hadi Tjahjanto, will operate until December 31.

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