Jakarta – The government, through inter-agency synergy, has once again demonstrated concrete steps in combating the increasingly troubling issue of online gambling. A strategic breakthrough was carried out by blocking thousands of inactive, or dormant, accounts that had long been exploited by digital crime syndicates to disguise illegal fund flows. As a result, online gambling fund circulation has reportedly dropped by more than 70 percent in recent months.
The Financial Services Authority (OJK) reported that it has instructed banks to block at least 25,912 accounts suspected of being used in online gambling activities. This request was made after OJK received data from the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi). OJK’s Chief Executive of Banking Supervision, Dian Ediana Rae, stated that this move is part of enforcement efforts against illegal financial transactions that undermine the integrity of the national banking system.
“OJK has asked banks to block around 25,912 accounts based on data from Komdigi, as well as to follow up with the closure of accounts linked to national ID numbers and the implementation of Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD),” said Dian.
According to him, the account blocking was accompanied by close monitoring of suspicious transactions, as well as strengthening insider cyber detection capabilities to address increasingly systematic and organized cyber threats.
“With the growing threat of more systematic and organized cyberattacks, OJK has also instructed banks to further improve and strengthen insider cyber detection by conducting continuous monitoring of financial transaction anomalies that could potentially indicate fraud,” Dian said.
OJK revealed that it had previously requested the blocking of 17,026 accounts linked to online gambling. This means that in less than a month, the number of blocked accounts increased by nearly 9,000. OJK has also urged banks to be more vigilant regarding dormant accounts, which are inactive and highly prone to misuse.
Dian emphasized that such accounts must be monitored to prevent them from being used as a conduit for financial crimes.
Meanwhile, Head of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), Ivan Yustiavandana, stated that online gambling transactions have decreased following the agency’s blocking of dormant accounts—accounts that remain idle. According to him, the move targeted accounts frequently used by criminals to obscure illegal fund flows.
“The most notable outcome we’ve observed from blocking these accounts is that online gambling transactions dropped by as much as 70 percent,” Ivan said.
He explained that many inactive accounts had been used as channels for online gambling activities.
“The total deposits in online gambling surged to IDR 5 trillion during the Eid holiday. After the dormant accounts were temporarily frozen, the figure dropped to IDR 2.9 trillion in May, and then fell again in June to IDR 1.5 trillion. Transaction frequency also plummeted—from 33 million to under 3 million,” he added.
Ivan further claimed that PPATK’s policy of blocking dormant accounts has disrupted the operations of several online gambling networks and other criminal activities.
He noted that dormant accounts blocked by PPATK are suspected of being vulnerable to misuse in financial crimes, including money laundering. Out of roughly one million accounts suspected of being linked to money laundering offenses, PPATK found that 150,000 were dormant accounts.
In addition, PPATK’s Coordinator for Public Relations, M. Natsir Kongah, explained that tens of thousands of these accounts were inactive, with no updated customer data. This indicates that the accounts were obtained through illegal means such as account trading or hacking, before being used to store criminal proceeds and eventually becoming dormant.
“More than 50,000 accounts showed no transactional activity before being used to receive illegal funds,” Natsir said.
The suspension of transactions aims to prompt banks and customers to re-verify their accounts. PPATK has also asked banks to immediately verify customer data and ensure account reactivation only after the customer’s identity and account ownership have been confirmed.