Indonesia Faces Uphill Battle to Curb Surge in Online Gambling Websites

JAKARTA (September 12, 2023) — Online gambling in Indonesia is a problem that the government is determined to stamp out, but the scale and reach of these websites make it an uphill battle, according to local media reports.

‘The Business Times‘ report that in the period from the start of 2018 to September this year, the authorities have shut down nearly 939,000 online gambling sites.

Budi Arie Setiadi, the new Minister of Communication and Information who took office on Jul 17, was quoted as telling CNN Indonesia that 42,622 online gambling sites were blocked in his first three weeks on the job.

Gambling is prohibited in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, with players and organisers facing hefty fines and jail time if caught and convicted.

Earlier this month, hackers took over the official YouTube account of Indonesia’s House of Representatives and used the platform to post a series of advertisements promoting online gambling.

The channel, which has more than 240,000 subscribers, contained two videos with thumbnails of an online gambling operator promoting slot machine games.

SOURCE: The Business Times.