Government Blocks Hundreds of Thousands of Online Gambling Content to Protect Society
Jakarta – The Ministry of Communication and Digital (Kemkomdig) has taken significant steps in eradicating online gambling by blocking 711,518 contents until early 2025. The majority of the blocked contents are 652,147 websites and IPs related to online gambling, while the rest includes 29,964 contents on the Meta platform, 17,836 file sharing, 6,842 contents on Google/YouTube, 4,075 on the X platform, 435 on Telegram, and 219 on TikTok.
Acting Director General of Public Communication and Media of the Ministry of Communication and Information, Molly Prabawaty, revealed that this blocking was the result of cooperation between public reports, complaints from agencies or institutions, and intensive cyber patrols. “We continue to urge the public to be more vigilant when surfing the digital world. Do not open online gambling sites, and immediately report suspicious content through official channels such as the aduankonten.id page, WhatsApp, or the Stop Judi Online chatbot,” said Molly.
This step was taken in response to the increasing negative impacts caused by online gambling, including economic and social losses. Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs, Budi Gunawan, said that the value of online gambling transactions in Indonesia reached a fantastic figure, namely IDR 900 trillion in 2024. “The President has said on several occasions that the turnover of online gambling in Indonesia has reached approximately IDR 900 trillion in 2024,” said Budi in a press conference on the Achievements of the Online Gambling Eradication Desk at the Ministry of Communication and Information last November.
In addition, Budi also stated that the number of online gambling players in Indonesia reached 8.8 million people in the same period, with the majority coming from the lower middle economic community. This is a serious concern for the government because the impact is not only on individuals but also on their families and social environment.
Kemkomdig also emphasized the importance of the role of the community in combating online gambling. “We hope that the community can be at the forefront in reporting content related to online gambling. Cooperation from all parties is needed to break the chain of online gambling addiction,” added Molly.
Through these steps, the government hopes to protect the public from the ever-threatening trap of online gambling, while creating a safer and healthier digital space. It is hoped that these efforts can continue to be improved until online gambling can be eradicated to its roots.
