Jakarta – The Indonesian government, through the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi), has successfully blocked more than 1.3 million pieces of content related to online gambling activities.
Alexander Sabar, Director General of Digital Space Supervision at Komdigi, stated that the majority of this content originated from websites and IP addresses actively promoting gambling.
“From the period of October 20, 2024, to May 2025, we have handled 1.3 million online gambling-related content. About 1.2 million of them came from websites and IP addresses, while the rest were advertisements spread across various social media platforms,” Alexander said.
He emphasized that this blocking effort is a concrete government action to combat online gambling practices that harm both the state and society.
“If left unchecked, online gambling could cause economic losses to Indonesia of up to IDR 1,000 trillion. Its impacts also destroy family economies and threaten the future of our younger generation,” he warned.
Komdigi also reported that in February 2025 alone, 993,144 online gambling websites and 187,865 pornographic content items were blocked. This initiative is part of a broader program for negative content moderation and child protection in the digital space.
Meanwhile, the Financial Services Authority (OJK) has also played a role in the crackdown. Dian Ediana Rae, Chief Executive of Banking Supervision at OJK, revealed that the authority had instructed banks to block thousands of suspicious accounts.
“In relation to combating online gambling, which has a broad impact on the economy, the OJK has instructed banks to block 10,016 accounts,” Dian stated.
He explained that further steps would be taken.
“We have asked banks to close accounts whose identity matches the National Identity Number (NIK) and to carry out enhanced due diligence. Dormant accounts are also a focus of our monitoring, as they are highly vulnerable to misuse in illegal activities,” he added.
On another front, member of Commission I of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), Farah Puteri Nahlia, praised the government’s success.
“I commend Komdigi for blocking more than 1.3 million online gambling content. This shows the government’s serious commitment to cutting access and taking action against perpetrators,” she said.
Farah added that online gambling has become a destructive social epidemic. “Imagine children aged 10 to 16 already involved in online gambling transactions. This is not just a legal issue, it’s an emergency in child protection,” she firmly concluded.