JAKARTA: Nearly 200,000 children in Indonesia have been exposed to online gambling, including around 80,000 under the age of 10, prompting concerns over the growing social impact of the illegal activity on the country’s younger generation.
Indonesian Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid described the figures as a serious warning for the future of Indonesian children and urged stronger public awareness and cross-sector cooperation to combat the issue.
"Online gambling is a scam with a system designed to ensure players almost always lose in the long run,” she said in Medan on Thursday, according to Antara News Agency.
Meutya said efforts to tackle online gambling could not rely solely on blocking access and law enforcement, but must also involve stronger digital literacy and education at the family and community levels.
"We are not only shutting down access or carrying out takedowns. The most important thing is reaching the wider public with these facts so that awareness grows from within families and communities,” she said.
Meutya said the Communication and Digital Affairs Ministry continues to block online gambling sites and content, but stressed that enforcement efforts must be supported by stronger cooperation involving the police, financial authorities, banks and digital platforms.
She also called on religious leaders, community leaders, communities and families to become the main line of defence against the spread of online gambling in their surroundings.
The minister also highlighted the increasing presence of online gambling advertisements on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, saying the government had urged the platforms to take down related content more aggressively.
"Online gambling is prohibited in Indonesia. All parties must share the same moral and legal responsibility,” she said.
Separately, Indonesian lawmaker Rudianto Lallo, who serves on the House of Representatives’ Commission III, which oversees legal and security affairs, pressed for the government to treat online gambling as a national enemy following the findings.
He said President Prabowo Subianto had also stressed that there should be no place in Indonesia for perpetrators of online gambling crimes.
He said police action against 320 foreign nationals linked to an online gambling syndicate recently should be pursued further to dismantle the networks completely. -- Bernama
