The Ministry Of Social Affairs Reactivates Social Assistance For 7,200 Recipients Affected By Online Gambling Cases

Minister of Social Affairs (Mensos) Saifullah Yusuf or Gus Ipul (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Social Affairs (Kemensos) has reactivated social assistance (bansos) for 7,200 beneficiaries who were previously dropped because they were involved in online gambling activities (judol). This policy was given after the recipients went through a strict verification process and assistance from social workers in the field.

Although it has been declared active again, the 7,200 recipients' accounts have not been included in the social assistance distribution list for the fourth quarter of 2025. This is because they still have to undergo a period of supervision by social assistants and a team from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK).

Of the total 600,000 recipients of the social assistance previously blocked, more than 200,000 people have submitted a request for reactivation. The majority of them claimed to need government assistance again to meet basic daily needs.

Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf emphasized that the reactivation process was carried out in stages and full of caution. Of the hundreds of thousands of applications, only 7,200 were declared to have passed verification and again received their rights.

There are already more than 200,000 who have asked for reactivation. Currently, only 7,200 have been declared active again. The reactivation is carried out through the Social Service, not the village, so that the assistant can confirm and provide education so that social assistance is not misused. After this, PPATK will also re-check in the next six months whether the recipients are still involved in online gambling or not. " Said Saifullah on Tuesday 18 November.

Although the green light has been given to 7,200 beneficiaries, Gus Ipul emphasized that tens of thousands of other applications are still in a strict field verification process. A thorough evaluation will determine who deserves to regain their rights.

The Ministry of Social Affairs has also prepared strict sanctions without compromise for beneficiaries who are proven to have misused social assistance for illicit activities, including online gambling.