Prabowo Must Be Committed In Eradicating Online Gambling

The Online Judi Task Force is expected to continue in the era of Prabowo Subianto's administration. (Special)

JAKARTA - Director of Research at the Center of Reform on Economic or Core, Piter Abdullah Redjalam, encouraged the elected president Prabowo Subianto to participate in talking about the increasingly widespread online gambling problem and its increasingly dangerous impact.

This is because this will show the commitment of the Prabowo government in eradicating online gambling, which is currently being intensified by President Joko Widodo through the establishment of an online gambling eradication task force.

"In my opinion, there should be attention from national leaders. Our future leader (Prabowo) should have started talking," said Piter, Sunday, June 16, 2024.

According to him, online gambling issues have been very disturbing, even triggering the loss of life. Not only in the lower middle class, but also in terms of elites, civil servants, and law enforcers.

She gave an example, the case of a policewoman in Mojokerto, East Java who burned her husband due to gossip about online gambling, a Navy Marine officer in Papua, Mountains, died by suicide because he was in debt of hundreds of millions due to online gambling, and a Kostrad officer in South Sulawesi who allegedly misused his unit budget to play online gambling.

Piter emphasized that the problem of online gambling with various negative impacts that occur in the community is already very concerning. Therefore, online gambling must be overcome with firm steps, not just efforts made by the task force.

He considered that the task force's efforts to take only action that did not lead to the root of the problem by only taking action against the perpetrators or users, did not reach its airports. For example, if a blocking of an online gambling site is carried out, it will grow and then new online gambling sites.

'The task force is not enough. The origin of it is more about why there is always gambling which is considered to give hope. People who hope for who, now this is the origin, they must be searched for. Then why is there online gambling, because someone is protecting and protecting, now this must be opened first, "explained Piter.

He hopes that the government and related stakeholders can start dealing with online gambling problems with honesty. Including if there are elites who are actually involved and even cover online gambling practices.

"If we are not honest in this regard the practices that are happening, then we will only live hypocritical lives. We will close our eyes on what is happening. This gambling occurs every day, whether online or not, many people are involved there," Piter said.