Indonesia calls online gambling a scam in bid to curb growing vice

It is seeking Interpol assistance, talks with Asean neighbours for help in shutting down sites

- Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja

Around 2.7 million Indonesians gamble online regularly, with fund circulation of roughly 327 trillion rupiah (S$27.5 billion) in 2023 prompting a worried government to try to eradicate the vice by calling it a scam.

In its fight against the promoters of gambling sites, the Ministry of Communications and Informatics (Kominfo) took down more than 800,000 such websites in the second half of 2023 - the same number as the gambling websites that were taken down in the previous five years.

But new gambling sites have popped up just as quickly, with new names and web addresses. The government has been unable to block them as the computer servers of these sites are mostly located overseas, including in the Philippines and Cambodia, officials said.

The fund circulation, according to the government, refers to the amount of money gamblers spent and lost as well as winnings.

"Nobody could win by betting their money against a machine that is designed to always be in profit.

We are doing public campaigns to convey this message," Communications and Information Minister Budi Arie Setiadi said in a text-message reply to The Straits Times on May 13.

The Indonesian government is now seeking Interpol assistance and is keen to have discussions with the authorities of its two Asean neighbours to help shut down the online sites.