WNAM REPORT: The Ministry of Communication and Informatics removed 3.383 million items of content related to online gambling from July 17, 2023, to September 17, 2024, as part of its efforts to create a safe digital space.
Minister of Communication and Informatics Budi Arie Setiadi said on Wednesday that the ministry also removed more than 29,000 gambling-related inserts from official websites of government and educational institutions.
“Our target is to minimize all online gambling practices in Indonesia. Just as the state protects people from disease and epidemics, it is also our responsibility to protect them from online gambling,” he said.
The ministry continues to conduct cyber patrols and identify keywords related to online gambling on digital platforms.
According to Setiadi, the ministry submitted 20,842 gambling-related keywords to Google from November 7, 2023, to August 8, 2024, and 5,173 such keywords to Meta during the same period for blocking.
The ministry also traced e-wallet accounts suspected of being used for online gambling transactions and submitted 573 e-wallet accounts to Bank Indonesia for blocking.
To combat online gambling, the Indonesian government has warned digital platforms to control the public domain name system (DNS) to prevent access to blacklisted IP addresses and cut off access to such sites.
“In addition, we have strengthened the policy of disconnecting Network Access Points (NAP) from countries like Cambodia and the Philippines, and we are blocking free VPNs used to access gambling sites,” Setiadi said.
Furthermore, the ministry has issued an audit order for electronic system organizers, particularly those in the digital financial sector.
Organizers found violating the rules could have their operating licenses revoked.
The ministry is collaborating with 11 associations in its efforts to eradicate online gambling.
The government’s initiatives to prevent and eliminate online gambling have begun to show results, Setiadi said.
He cited data from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) in July, which indicated that deposits to online gambling sites had fallen by 50 percent compared to before the eradication efforts were implemented.
