Govt Finds 3.2 Million Indonesians Engaged in Online Gambling

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Hadi Tjahjanto revealed that some 3.2 million Indonesians are engaged in online gambling activities. Based on the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), 80 percent of these gamblers placed bets under Rp100,000.

While the individual bet amounts may appear insignificant, the aggregate value of money turnover from illegal activities in the country amounted to Rp327 trillion in 2023 alone. 

“It was recorded at Rp327 trillion, via 168 transactions. In the first quarter of 2024, it (the money turnover) reaches Rp100 trillion,” Hadi explained.

He assessed that online slot gambling has been the most popular form of gambling among Indonesian gamblers since 2023.

“In 2015, [the popular] gambling activity was in the form of credit market. In 2016, it was the cash market. In 2023, [the gambling activities] shifted massively to alternative links with servers abroad, with online slot gambling being the most popular,” he said after a coordination meeting on the formation of the online gambling eradication task force at the ministry’s building in Jakarta, on Tuesday, April 23.

Online slot gambling is currently the most popular form of gambling because it is easily accessible as it only requires an internet connection and a device. “This means that people can gamble online at any time,” he added.

Therefore, the government is determined to establish a task force to eradicate online gambling, which will involve not only law enforcement agencies but also all ministries and institutions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“We will expand the MoU [with other countries],” he remarked, indicating that the task force will target countries in Southeast Asia.