Communication and Informatics Minister Budi Arie Setiadi urged all network access point (NAP) service providers to cut access to internet lines based in Cambodia and the Philippines allegedly used for online gambling.
“We are taking all viable measures for eradicating online gambling,” he told ANTARA in Jakarta on Sunday.
The instruction is put forward in the Communication and Informatics Minister’s Letter to NAP Service Providers signed on June 21, 2024.
In the letter, Setiadi stressed that all NAP providers must comply with the instruction no later than three days after the signing of the document.
“(NAP providers should) sever access to internet lines that are suspected of being utilized for online gambling activities, especially those based in Cambodia and the Philippines’ Davao, no later than 3 x 24 hours after the signing of this letter,” he noted in the letter.
The minister also called on NAP providers to report to the government on the steps they take to sever the access as well as the impacts resulting from such actions for further evaluations.
The instructions outlined are in compliance with Law No. 36 of 1999 concerning telecommunication and the results of the meeting held by the Task Force for Eradicating Online Gambling chaired by Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Coordinating Minister Hadi Tjahjanto on June 19.
To protect citizens from online gambling, the Ministry of Communication and Informatics has successfully taken down a total of 2,945,150 pieces of online gambling content from July 17, 2023, to June 13, 2024.
Moreover, the ministry has also requested Bank Indonesia to block 555 e-wallet accounts linked to online gambling activities and asked the Financial Services Authority (OJK) to freeze 5,779 similar bank accounts from September 18, 2023, to May 28, 2024.
Additionally, from July 17, 2023, to June 13, 2024, the ministry dealt with 16,596 gambling page inserts on educational sites and 18,974 gambling page inserts on government sites.
