Online Gambling Trend in Indonesia Continues to Rise, Reaching Rp100 Trillion in 2022

According to data from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), approximately 157 million online gambling transactions occurred in Indonesia between 2017 and 2022, with a total turnover of Rp190 trillion.

The PPATK obtained this data from investigations and analysis of 887 parties involved in online gambling syndicates.

"The funds in question represent the flow of money for betting, payout of winnings, gambling operational costs, transfers between syndicate networks, and transactions suspected of being money laundering carried out by the syndicate network," said PPATK Public Relations Bureau Head Natsir Kongah in a statement, as reported by CNN Indonesia on Monday (September 26, 2023).

Natsir explained that online gambling transaction activity in Indonesia has steadily increased over the past five years.

In 2017, the PPATK found 250,700 online gambling transactions totaling Rp2 trillion. The number of transactions continued to increase in subsequent years.

The number and value of online gambling transactions reached a record high in 2022, as shown in the graph above.

To combat online gambling, the Ministry of Communication and Information (Kominfo) has blocked access to or taken down 60,582 pieces of content suspected of being related to online gambling during September 2023.

Minister of Communication and Information Budi Arie stated that his ministry will instruct mobile operators to strengthen user SIM card data verification and request internet service providers to identify networks containing online gambling content.

"Furthermore, we will continue to coordinate with ministries and institutions, digital platforms, mobile operators and internet service providers, banks, and financial service providers to address online gambling," said Minister of Communication and Information Budi Arie in a press release on Friday (September 22, 2023).

(See also: 10 Largest Online Gambling Markets in the World, Is Indonesia Among Them?)