Online Gambling Presents a Daily Challenge for Indonesian Authorities

JAKARTA, Indonesia (August 25, 2023) — According to local media reports online gambling is a daily challenge for the Indonesian Communication and Informatics ministry (Kominfo), as it persists in removing sites and accounts.

It’s minister, Johnny G Plate, said the task is daunting but the authorities will strive, on a daily basis, to block and remove the online gambling menace, reported Antara news.

“We will continue to clean it (objectionable sites and accounts) every day through the surveillance systems that exist in Kominfo,” he said here on Tuesday.

Plate said the ministry is consistently monitoring online platforms or system organisers that offer online gambling but admitted it’s not easy.

It needs a lot of legwork to check on these systems online and ensure the accounts are legitimate, he said.

Plate stressed there is good collaboration with other agencies in government such as the police.

Plate added blocking gambling sites is not the only way that the ministry eradicates online gambling activities.

The ministry also relies on improving digital literacy among the people, so that they would not be easily affected by negative content in the digital space, including online gambling.

From 2018 to date, the ministry has blocked access to 566,332 pieces of content related to online gambling. This year the ministry had blocked 118,320 sites