JAKARTA: Indonesia has blocked access to about 3.7 million websites and online content linked to online gambling and shut down thousands of bank accounts since late 2024, as authorities intensified a nationwide crackdown on the illicit industry.
Communication and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid said the government's crackdown now extends beyond blocking gambling websites to dismantling the broader ecosystem that supports the illicit activity.
"The eradication of online gambling must be carried out comprehensively. It is not enough, nor should it stop, at merely blocking access to websites. It must target the entire ecosystem,” she said at a forum here on Tuesday, according to a ministry statement.
Meutya said the broader approach involves closer cooperation between the ministry, the Financial Services Authority (OJK), Bank Indonesia, the banking industry and law enforcement agencies to disrupt the financial networks underpinning online gambling.
Since late 2024, the ministry and OJK have identified about 38,000 bank accounts suspected of being linked to online gambling, with around 32,500 subsequently closed following a cleansing process.
Meutya said blocking gambling websites must be accompanied by cutting off the financial lifelines of online gambling syndicates through the closure of intermediary bank accounts, adding that such collaboration was key to breaking the chain of digital crime. - Bernama
