Jakarta – The government continues to intensify efforts to eradicate online gambling by involving students as the vanguard in increasing digital literacy in society.
Minister of Communication and Digital (Menkomdigi), Meutya Hafid emphasized that student involvement is very necessary to reduce the increasingly worrying number of online gambling.
“Online gambling is more than just gambling, but also algorithm-based fraud that always harms its players. Therefore, we ask for help from academics and students to work together to build public awareness so that they do not fall into this practice,” said Meutya.
According to data from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) in 2024, North Sumatra is among the top six provinces with the highest online gambling cases in Indonesia. This shows that digital education still needs to be strengthened to prevent people from falling into the trap of technology-based gambling.
Meutya emphasized that her party has collaborated with various parties, including the National Cyber and Crypto Agency (BSSN), digital platforms, cellular operators, and the Financial Services Authority (OJK), to block more than 800,000 online gambling sites.
“However, blocking alone is not enough without education and increasing digital awareness in the community,” he added.
On the other hand, the spirit of fighting online gambling was also echoed by the academic community of the Sumatra Institute of Technology (Itera) who held an anti-online gambling declaration on their campus. The Chancellor of Itera, Prof. Dr. I Nyoman Pugeg Aryantha, emphasized that the campus must be a healthy environment and free from gambling practices.
“Itera is committed to producing a young generation who thinks clearly, works hard, and is not tempted by instant lures that actually damage the future,” he said.
This declaration received support from students, including the President of the KM-Itera Student Association, Muhammad Rizky Saputra, who reminded that online gambling not only drains students’ pocket money but can also drag them into detrimental online loans.
“Online gambling can have a negative impact on students’ finances and mental health. We must be able to control ourselves and not fall into this practice,” he said.
With the increasing participation of students in combating online gambling, the government hopes that this campaign can reduce the number of people involved in online gambling and create a healthier and more productive digital ecosystem for the Indonesian nation.
