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Blocking of Online Gambling Sites Accelerated for Clean Digital Space

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By: Darmawan Adhi )*

The government continues to strengthen concrete steps in controlling the digital space from the increasingly rampant threat of online gambling. Through the Ministry of Communication and Digital (Kemkomdigi), the strategy of blocking illegal sites is being accelerated to ensure that the national digital ecosystem remains safe, healthy, and productive. By mid-June 2025, more than two million online gambling sites had been successfully blocked.

The Minister of Communication and Digital, Meutya Hafid, explained that the large number of sites blocked shows how massively the online gambling industry is growing, including the emergence of new sites automatically. This situation not only threatens the security of the digital space, but also begins to target vulnerable age groups.

The government found that children under the age of 18 are one of the segments that are quite often caught in this activity. This fact is a serious concern and is the basis for the birth of a stricter protection policy for young users.

As a form of the state’s commitment to protecting the nation’s generation, the government issued Government Regulation Number 17 of 2025 concerning the Governance of the Implementation of Electronic Systems in Child Protection (PP Tunas).

This PP regulation regulates age restrictions on access to social media and other electronic systems that are considered vulnerable to exploitation for illegal purposes. This age restriction is expected to significantly reduce children’s exposure to online gambling content.

In addition to the regulatory aspect, the Ministry of Communication and Digital also relies on sophisticated technology to combat illegal content. Artificial intelligence and crawler systems have been implemented to monitor and take action against negative content in real time. However, Meutya emphasized that the success of this program cannot depend solely on technology and regulation.

Public participation is needed, both in the form of reporting suspicious content and consciously refusing to access and distribute online gambling sites. She assessed that this industry will continue to grow as long as there are still enthusiasts in society, so collective awareness must be built.

The government also took firm steps when the PeduliLindungi.id website was found to have been infiltrated with gambling content by irresponsible parties. The Director General of Digital Space Supervision at the Ministry of Communication and Digital, Alexander Sabar, said that after receiving public reports accompanied by evidence of links and screenshots, his party immediately carried out verification. The results showed that the site that was previously used during the Covid-19 pandemic had been defaced and displayed a link that led to a gambling site.

Because the site was no longer actively managed and had been transferred to the SatuSehat system, direct access termination measures were taken to prevent further misuse. The Ministry of Communication and Digital assessed that the violation was a serious threat to the principle of information security and was clear evidence that old, abandoned sites could still be used by online gamblers.

In the framework of strengthening the enforcement of digital regulations, the Ministry of Communication and Digital has also implemented the Content Moderation Compliance System (SAMAN) since February 2025. Deputy Minister of Communication and Digital, Angga Raka Prabowo, explained that this system was designed to increase the responsibility of Electronic System Organizers (PSE) in protecting digital space from various forms of illegal content, including online gambling. SAMAN works through a tiered notification scheme that is sent to PSE when a violation is found.

In the first stage, the PSE will receive a letter of instruction to close access to the violating content or link. If not complied with, it will be continued with a warning letter up to the third stage. In cases of serious violations that are not followed up, the government has the authority to completely terminate the service. With this system, the government not only targets illegal sites, but also instills ethical and legal obligations in digital service providers to actively maintain the quality of cyberspace.

Notifications in the SAMAN system are sent quickly, namely a maximum of 24 hours for regular content and four hours for urgent content. This speed is needed so that the spread of dangerous content can be stopped immediately and does not have time to spread widely in society. The government also opens a public reporting channel through aduankonten.id to accommodate public participation in monitoring and maintaining the cleanliness of digital space together.

The implementation of SAMAN complements the comprehensive approach that has been taken by the government. In addition to online gambling, this system also handles child pornography content, terrorism, illegal online loans, and illegal food and drug products.

However, the government has stated that it will not give the slightest tolerance to online gambling. This showsthat eradicating online gambling is not just a legal obligation, but also a moral responsibility of the state in maintaining the social and mental resilience of the community.

The government’s efforts to accelerate the blocking of online gambling sites also show that the eradication strategy is not carried out reactively, but rather structured, progressive, and data-based. By strengthening regulations, utilizing technology, and actively involving the public, the government hopes that Indonesia’s digital space can grow into a safe, comprehensive ecosystem that supports national progress.

)* The author is an Anti-Online Gambling Activist

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