TLDR
- Indonesia has blocked 3.7 million online gambling sites and pieces of content since October 2024.
- The Ministry of Communications and Digital Affairs identified 156,000 suspected gambling accounts through public reports.
- Authorities flagged 85,500 mobile phone numbers linked to suspected fraud activity.
- About 38,000 bank accounts are suspected of ties to online gambling, with 32,500 already closed.
- The ministry is shifting from reactive takedowns to pattern-based detection and faster data sharing between agencies.
Indonesia’s government has removed 3.7 million online gambling sites and related content since October 2024. The number was shared by Minister of Communications and Digital Affairs Meutya Hafid on Tuesday.
Hafid spoke after a banking forum in Jakarta. Her comments were reported by the country’s official news agency, ANTARA.
The removals cover websites and digital content tied to suspected illegal gambling. The campaign has been running for close to two years.
Public Reports Drive Detection
The ministry also runs an online platform where people can report suspected gambling activity. Through this system, officials identified 156,000 suspected gambling accounts.
Authorities also flagged 85,500 mobile phone numbers. These numbers were reported as suspected tools for fraud linked to gambling operations.
The scale of these numbers shows how much the public reporting system has grown. It now plays a large role in how the ministry finds new targets.
Hafid said tackling online gambling needs cooperation across several groups. This includes her ministry, other government agencies, banks, and the Financial Services Authority.
She said the ministry wants to move away from simply reacting to gambling sites after they appear. Instead, it wants to spot patterns early using anomaly detection tools.
Data sharing is also being sped up. Information now moves faster between the online reporting platform and mobile identity authorities.
Bank Accounts Face Closure
The crackdown extends beyond websites and phone numbers. The ministry has reported about 38,000 bank accounts suspected of links to online gambling.
Of those accounts, 32,500 have already been closed. The remaining accounts are still under review.
Hafid said the ministry reported these accounts to the Financial Services Authority. She said she hopes more suspect accounts can be shut down with help from banks.
This shows financial institutions are part of the wider strategy. Officials are not just removing content, they are also cutting off money flows tied to suspected gambling.
The bank account figures suggest that financial channels remain a main focus. Authorities appear to view this as a key part of stopping gambling operations from continuing.
Hafid’s update gives a fuller picture of enforcement so far. The numbers cover site blocks, account reports, phone numbers, and bank account closures.
The ministry has not given a timeline for when the campaign might end. Officials have instead pointed to ongoing coordination between agencies as the current focus.
Hafid said continued support from the banking industry will be needed. This support would help close any remaining accounts tied to suspected gambling activity.
The ministry’s newest figures show the crackdown has not slowed down. Enforcement is active across websites, phone numbers, financial accounts, and public reporting systems, and officials say this coordinated approach remains their current method for responding to suspected violations.
