TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Budi Gunawan stated that money turnover in online gambling in Indonesia has reached Rp900 trillion in 2024. He considered the situation as disturbing, worrying, and urgent.
According to his statement, the data was also confirmed by President Prabowo Subianto on several other occasions. “The turnover of online gambling in Indonesia has reached approximately Rp900 trillion in 2024,” Budi Gunawan said during a press conference held at the Ministry of Digital Communication office on Thursday, November 21, 2024.
These figures indicate an increase in the amount of money circulating in online gambling activities in the country. The amount has increased to more than Rp600 trillion.
Earlier, the head of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), Ivan Yustiavandana, stated that the turnover of funds from online gambling in the second semester of 2024 had reached Rp283 trillion. He mentioned this during a working meeting with the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission III on Wednesday, November 6, 2024.
He noted that in the first semester of 2024, the turnover of funds from online gambling reached Rp174 trillion. This figure increased in the second semester of 2024 and reached Rp283 trillion.
Budi Gunawan said that the ministries and related institutions have so far cooperated with various parties, including the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), the National Police (Polri), the Attorney General’s Office, the National Cyber and Crypto Agency (BSSN), Bank Indonesia (BI), the Financial Services Authority (OJK), and the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK). This collaboration is to follow up on the achievements of the Online Gambling Handling Desk and the Cyber Security and Data Protection Desk.
He further explained that there are currently an estimated 8.8 million online gambling players in Indonesia, with the majority coming from the lower middle-class economic group. Of the 8.8 million, 97,000 are members of the TNI-Polri, 1.9 million work in the private sector, and there are recorded 80,000 online gambling players under the age of 10.
Budi added that the estimated number of players is expected to increase over time unless massive efforts are made to eradicate online gambling. Therefore, they are committed to working with various stakeholders to combat online gambling activities with concrete steps.
Some of these steps include blocking online gambling sites that continue to flood various online platforms by the Communication and Digital Ministry and blocking the flow of funds through bank accounts suspected of being linked to online gambling activities, done by the central bank. The government is also carrying out campaigns and providing education to the public about the dangers of online gambling.
Novali Panji Nugroho contributed to the writing of this article.
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