Indonesia has blocked 3.7 million websites and online content linked to suspected illegal gambling since October 2024. Authorities are intensifying efforts to curb online gambling across the country.
Communications and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said the ministry had removed 3.7 million gambling-related websites and pieces of content during the period. This is according to Indonesia’s official news agency, ANTARA.
Authorities Expand Enforcement
The minister said more than 156,000 suspected online gambling accounts had been identified through the government’s online reporting platform. The identification was done with assistance from the public.
Authorities have also received reports involving 85,500 mobile phone numbers suspected of being connected to fraudulent activities.
Thousands of Bank Accounts Closed
Beyond content removal, Indonesia has increased financial enforcement against illegal gambling.
According to Hafid, the ministry has reported around 38,000 bank accounts suspected of being linked to online gambling to the Financial Services Authority (OJK). Of those, 32,500 accounts have already been closed.
She expressed hope that additional flagged accounts would also be shut down with continued cooperation from the banking sector.
Shift Toward Proactive Detection
Hafid said the government is moving beyond reactive website blocking by adopting pattern-based anomaly detection. Additionally, it is strengthening data sharing between government agencies, financial regulators, banks, and mobile identity authorities.
The expanded coordination aims to improve the detection of illegal gambling networks. It also accelerates enforcement against related financial and digital activities.
