JAKARTA-About 2.7million 印度尼西亚人经常在网上赌博,recording roughly 27.6million in fund circulation in 2023.Government trying to readicate the vice by calling it a scam with a worry.
More than 800.000 gambling websites have been blocked by the Ministry of Communications and Informatics (Kominfo) in the second half of 2023 to against the promotes of gambling sites .But new such sites have popped up just as quickly with new names and web addresses.
The government has been unable to block them as the computer servers of these sites are mostly located overseas, including in the Philippines and Cambodia, officials said. The fund circulation, according to the government, refers to the amount of money gamblers spent and lost as well as spent and won.
“Nobody could win by betting their money against a machine that is designed to always be in profit. We are doing public campaigns to convey this message,” communications and information minister Budi Arie Setiadi said in a text-message reply to The Straits Times on May 13.
The Indonesian government is currently reaching out to Interpol for assistance and is eager to engage with the authorities of its two ASEAN neighbors to collaborate in shutting down online gambling sites.
Compounding the issue, numerous gamblers are spiraling into debt by resorting to high-interest loans from popular online lending platforms, locally referred to as pinjol, which typically grant loans within minutes.
According to government estimates, a staggering 78 percent of the 2.7 million gamblers in the country, out of a total population of 280 million, are young individuals, many aged between 17 and 20, and hailing from low-income families.
In accordance with Indonesian law, gambling is considered a criminal offense and is subject to punishment by imprisonment. Individuals involved in online gambling may face a maximum sentence of six years in jail and a fine of up to one billion rupiah.
However, the government aims to tackle this issue not only through legal measures but also by educating the public about the dangers of gambling addiction.
Officials emphasize the deceptive nature of online gambling, likening it to a scam that lures individuals in with algorithms designed to allow players to win initially. As addiction takes hold, players often find themselves trapped in a cycle where the more they play, the more they lose.
Once ensnared, many individuals struggle to break free from the addiction, continuing to gamble until they exhaust their finances and are unable to secure further loans.
In late April, Kominfo’s director-general for public information Usman Kasong said President Joko Widodo is committed to resolving this gambling problem, with various ministries and agencies roped in to combat the online menace that has reached an alarming level.
“Kominfo cannot take down (websites operating from) servers located overseas, while the OJK (Financial Services Authority) cannot block accounts with banks overseas,” said Mr Usman, adding that Indonesia will try to do this via government-to-government cooperation.
The OJK possesses the authority to instruct any bank to suspend or block bank accounts associated with criminal activities. In the final three months of 2023, it directed private banks to block 4,000 accounts linked to online gambling.
As part of the strategy, Indonesia’s Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) will track the financial transactions of individuals involved in online gambling, while the police will conduct investigations and make arrests.
Additionally, private banks such as Bank Central Asia, the country’s largest savings account holder, and Bank Jago, the leading digital bank, are also actively contributing to these efforts.
“We never facilitate online gambling in any form and will block any account used for online gambling based on the existing regulations,” said Ms Hera F. Haryn, a Bank Central Asia spokeswoman.
Bank Jago CEO Arief Harris Tandjung said online gambling is a concern faced not only by the regulator but also by the banking industry.
“Accounts with unusual behaviour such as those that had thousands of transfers a month… would go into our screening. We regularly monitor and request explanation when transactions get suspicious,” said Mr Arief.
He added: ”We will block the account as soon as possible if it is found to be linked to online gambling.”
