Indonesia Freezes $36.2 Million in Illegal Gambling Funds Amid Intensified Crackdown

Indonesian authorities have ramped up their offensive against unlawful online betting, freezing approximately $36.2 million in gambling-related assets as part of a broad, ongoing campaign. According to The Jakarta Globe, Ivan Yustiavandana, head of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), confirmed that more than 5,000 bank accounts connected to illegal gambling activity have been frozen.

Yustiavandana noted that the PPATK initiated the freeze in February, with the Indonesian National Police later issuing formal blocking orders on the targeted accounts.

The PPATK has taken a leading role in the anti-gambling operation, an initiative that began during Joko Widodo’s presidency. Although Widodo’s second term concluded in 2024, current President Prabowo Subianto has adopted a similarly hardline stance on illegal betting. According to the media outlet, Subianto’s administration has since “intensified” the countrywide anti-gambling measures.

Authorities have instructed domestic internet providers to block access to numerous gambling websites, restricted thousands of IP addresses, and ordered the removal of social media content related to online betting. Officials claim that since Subianto assumed office in October 2024, the government has successfully removed or blocked about 900,000 gambling-related web pages and posts.

Jakarta has tasked the PPATK with monitoring banking platforms to detect suspicious transactions potentially linked to illegal gambling operations. “The core objective of this law enforcement initiative is to protect the public from the social harms of online gambling, which often drives victims to drug trafficking, online fraud, and even prostitution in order to sustain their addiction. It can also lead to the breakdown of families,” Yustiavandana stated.

Despite the domestic crackdown, Indonesian authorities say gambling operators are increasingly relocating overseas. The Foreign Affairs Ministry reports a growing trend of citizens “voluntarily entering the online gambling industry abroad, especially in Cambodia.” Officials claim that scammers and human trafficking syndicates are luring Indonesians with fraudulent job offers, only to exploit them in overseas gambling enterprises.

Jakarta reports that more than 5,000 Indonesian nationals have been rescued from international cybercrime syndicates since 2020. These criminal networks are believed to operate primarily in Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Yustiavandana explained that victims are deceived by bogus employment offers and are subsequently subjected to abusive working conditions. “Instead, these workers end up in conditions resembling forced labor, with little to no compensation,” the outlet reported.

In April, Migrant Worker Protection Minister Abdul Kadir Karding issued a public warning urging caution when responding to job offers from other Southeast Asian countries. He stressed that human trafficking cases are particularly prevalent in nations lacking formal migrant worker placement agreements with Indonesia.

Meanwhile, other Southeast Asian countries are grappling with similar challenges related to gambling regulation and related crimes. In Thailand, political tensions have emerged over a contentious proposal to legalize gambling in state-sanctioned entertainment zones. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has argued that the initiative would stimulate year-round tourism revenue, but opponents warn it could destabilize the ruling coalition and normalize harmful behaviors.

A UN agency has also expressed concern, warning that major international criminal syndicates have already infiltrated legal casinos and industrial zones across various Southeast Asian countries.

By fLEXI tEAM