Jakarta – The Indonesian government has announced the formation of an Online Gambling Eradication Task Force (Online Gambling Task Force), which aims to combat the practice of online gambling which is increasingly spreading in various regions of this country.
This step was taken as part of the government’s efforts to maintain public order and security and eradicate illegal gambling practices that harm many parties.
The Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menkopolhukam), who also leads the Task Force, Hadi Tjahjanto, stated that the government is very serious in dealing with the problem of illegal online gambling which is increasingly rampant.
“The President’s mandate is to implement concrete and comprehensive policies to cut down the online gambling ecosystem,” said the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs.
He explained that direct involvement from the Police with support from BIN and TNI was needed, who would go directly to the field.
The Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs also expressed his appreciation for the full support from the community and law enforcement in efforts to eradicate the practice of online gambling.
On the same occasion, the Minister of Communication and Information (Menkominfo), Budi Arie Setiadi, explained that as Daily Chair of prevention, his party carries out coordination, outreach, education and resolving obstacles in preventing online gambling.
“Kominfo also handles online gambling through communication systems, namely, blocking online gambling content, closing Internet Service Providers (ISP) and stopping access to Telegram as the platform that promotes online gambling the most, as well as imposing administrative sanctions on online gambling players,” said Budi. .
The membership of this Task Force also involves police officers, prosecutors, the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), BSSN and other elements authorized to handle online gambling cases.
Apart from law enforcement efforts, the government also invites the public not to get caught up in online gambling practices which can be financially detrimental and damage social life. Education will be improved to increase public understanding of the dangers of online gambling and how to avoid this temptation.
Minister of Communication and Information Budi said that cellular operators Telkomsel, XL and Smartfren were very cooperative in efforts to eradicate online gambling.
“I communicated with the CEO of the cellular operator so that cell phone credit would not be used to facilitate online gambling. “Telkomsel, XL and Smartfren are very cooperative in eradicating online gambling,” said Budi.
Previously, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) firmly voiced the prohibitions and dangers related to online gambling. Jokowi invited the public not to get involved in gambling both offline and online.
“Don’t gamble.. Don’t gamble.. Don’t gamble.. both offline and online. “It’s better if you have good fortune, save the money or use it as business capital,” said the President.
Jokowi emphasized the negative impacts caused by the practice of gambling, such as loss of property, family breakdown, and increased crime and violence in society.
“The government continues to seriously make efforts to eradicate and combat online gambling,” he said.
By increasing public awareness and knowledge about the risks of falling into illegal online gambling practices, it is hoped that it can protect individuals and families from the negative impacts they cause. [-ed]