OJK Ready To Help Integrated Task Force Eradicate Online Gambling

JAKARTA - The Financial Services Authority (OJK) is ready to work together and fully support the formation of an integrated task force (task force) to eradicate online gambling.

"Yes, we will fully cooperate and support the task force and we will see from those that have been blocked (accounts allegedly related to online gambling) for us to take further steps," said OJK Board of Commissioners Mahendra Siregar at the Jakarta Presidential Palace complex, reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, May 22.

This step, he said, was taken to further explore the names of the account owners so that later it could become the bank's attention.

"To see the possibility of how the names of the owners are also to become people who must then be considered in all banks, not only in banks where their accounts are blocked," said Mahendra.

It is known, from the end of 2023 to March 2024, OJK has blocked around 5,000 accounts used related to online gambling activities.

"Almost 5,000 accounts," said Mahendra.

The formation of the task force has been approved and it is hoped that online gambling management will run quickly.

"This task force has been approved to be carried out and while what was immediately coordinated is because from one activity to another there is always an overlap and so that with this task force it can be immediately disbursed and run fast," he said.

He said that there must be regulations to prevent online gambling activities such as knowing the profile of customers and their behavior in using accounts that are opened at banks.

"It's like an algorithm, what kind of behavior, how can it be, the account has a pattern, that's what we have to understand and the bank must be able to get force in due diligence and knowledge about customers," said Mahendra.

Previously, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) ordered the integrated task force led by the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam) Hadi Tjahjanto to break the online gambling ecosystem.

In a limited meeting (ratas) at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, the President also ordered a task force in which the Minister of Communication and Information Budi Arie Setiadi served as the head of the prevention sector, to immediately make a breakthrough in eradicating online gambling.

"So how does the entire ecosystem that allows us to complete online gambling (can)," Budi told reporters after the discussion on eradicating online gambling.

Based on data from the Ministry of Communication and Information, from July 17, 2023 to May 21, 2024, 1,904,246 online gambling content was successfully removed (take down) and 5,364 accounts and 555 electronic wallets affiliated with online gambling have been submitted to OJK and Bank Indonesia to be blocked.