Don't Withdraw Social Assistance For Jakarta Residents Playing Online Gambling, Pramono: We Are Developed

Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung (Diah Ayu/VOI)

JAKARTA - DKI Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung admitted that he would not withdraw the distribution of social assistance (bansos) to Jakarta residents who played online gambling (judol).

This is in response to the findings of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) which stated that 15 thousand DKI Jakarta residents who received social assistance were included in the list of judol players.

"Yes, of course we will not attract social assistance because it is (right)," said Pramono at DKI Jakarta City Hall, Wednesday, July 30.

However, the DKI Provincial Government will not allow residents who receive social assistance to continue to play judol. According to Pramono, they will receive education about the negative impacts and losses of judol activities.

"We do coaching. We will tell them not to play judol because no one wins judol," he said.

Pramono emphasized that aid funds should be used properly to meet basic needs and increase the socio-economic resilience of the community.

"The public is also advised to report if they find indications of misuse of social assistance in their environment," said the former Cabinet Secretary.

Based on PPATK data, throughout 2024 there were 602,419 Jakarta residents who were indicated to be involved in online gambling activities, with a transaction value of IDR 3.12 trillion.

Head of PPATK Ivan Yustiavandana revealed, of these, 15,033 of them were recorded as recipients of social assistance.

"There are 15,033 DKI Jakarta residents as recipients of social assistance who are included in the list of online gambling players for the period 2024. The total nominal number of judol transactions from this group is IDR 67 billion in 397 thousand transactions throughout 2024," Ivan explained.