The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) has projected that online gambling transactions in the country could reach Rp900 trillion (US$55.2 billion) by the end of this year if no preventive measures are taken.

This alarming forecast was highlighted by Minister of Communication and Informatics, Budi Arie Setiadi, during a press conference on the latest developments in combating online gambling, held in Jakarta on Thursday, July 25, 2024.

Budi revealed that the introduction of a task force has already led to a reduction in online gambling deposits by Rp34.5 trillion.

Additionally, public access to online gambling has reportedly decreased by 50 percent, according to PPATK data.

Budi further stated that with enhanced task force interventions, deposits could potentially decrease by another Rp45.8 trillion, with access to gambling sites falling by 80 percent.

The ministry, through its Directorate General of Informatics Applications, has been actively blocking content related to online gambling.

From July 17, 2023, to July 23, 2024, the ministry blocked 2,645,081 online gambling content pieces. Moreover, the ministry requested the Central Bank (BI) to freeze 573 e-wallet accounts related to online gambling.

The ministry also dealt with 23,616 instances of online gambling content embedded in government websites and 22,205 others in educational institution sites.

Additionally, the ministry provided 20,595 keywords related to online gambling to Google from November 2023 to July 2024, and 3,961 keywords to Meta, the parent company of Facebook, between December 15, 2023, and July 23, 2024.

Furthermore, Budi said that the ministry requested the Financial Services Authority (OJK) to freeze 6,199 bank accounts associated with online gambling from September 2023 to July 23, 2024.