Indonesia’s Catholic Youth has pledged to work with the government in eradicating online gambling.

Indonesia.- Stefanus Asat Gusma, general chair of the PP Catholic Youth has met with Budi Arie Setiadi, minister of communications and information technology, to express his willingness to collaborate with the government in actions against online gambling. Asat Gusma said the Catholic youth would conduct preventive initiatives, such as outreach and education, targeting younger people, to raise awareness about the negative impacts of online gambling.

After the meeting, Asat Gusma said: “Catholic youth appreciate the Ministry of Communication and Information which in a short time was able to eradicate online gambling. Catholic youth will also be proactive in reporting all forms of online gambling activities to the authorities.”

In June, president Joko Widodo created a task force to tackle online gambling. The government also asked network access point (NAP) service providers to cut off access to internet lines from Cambodia and the Philippines used for online gambling.

Gambling is banned in Indonesia and is illegal for both citizens and foreigners. There are no legal casinos in the country and anyone found gambling can face severe fines and imprisonment