Kominfo Blocks 1,918,520 Online Gambling Content And Files Closure Of 555 E-Wallets To BI

Online gambling illustration. (Freepik.com)

Minister of Communication and Information (Menkominfo) Budi Arie Setiadi said that his party had blocked or taken down 1,918,520 content containing online gambling from July 17, 2023 to May 22, 2024. Then, Kominfo has also submitted the closure of 555 e-wallet accounts related to online gambling to Bank Indonesia during the period October to May 22, 2024. Then, blocking 5,364 bank accounts related to online gambling to OJK from 17 September 2023 to 22 May 2024. Kominfo has also taken down 18,877 gambling pages on educational sites, and 22,714 gambling pages on government websites from 2023 to 22 May 2024. Also, keyword updates related to online videos to facilitate content patrols, namely 20,241 keywoards to Google from 7 November 2023 to 22 May 2024, and 2,702 keywords to Meta from 15 December 2022 to 22 May 2024. "As an illustration, the top 10 online gambling keywords in the past week have been Liveslot, RTP Slot, NoLimit Slot, Sitelot, Slotgacor, Pragmatikslot, Casino Online, Togel, Bonus Slot, and CQ9," Budi Arie said in a virtual press conference, Friday, May 24. Budi emphasized that Indonesia is currently in an online gambling emergency. Many cases were caused by these activities, one of which was a TNI officer who committed suicide because he was suspected of being in online gambling debt. "For this reason, we must accelerate, move quickly. Of course, existing efforts require cross-ministerial collaboration, and require support from leaders and all components of society," he said. On May 22, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) ordered an integrated task force led by the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam) Hadi Tjahjanto to break the online gambling ecosystem. Jokowi also ordered the 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.

"Jadi bagaimana seluruh ekosistem yang memungkinkan terjadinya judi online (bisa) kita selesaikan,” kata Budi kepada wartawan usai ratas pembahasan pemberantasan judi online dj Istana Kepresidenan, Rabu, 22 Mei.