The Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) has taken significant enforcement action against online gambling content, blocking 43,063 digital contents in the first six days of 2025.
As part of the country's ongoing efforts to combat illegal gambling activities, the blocked content includes various social media accounts and websites.
This initiative reflects the priorities set by President Prabowo Subianto and Minister of Communication Meutya Hafid, which is to protect the youth from the harms of online gambling and other harmful digital content.
Molly Prabawaty, the Director General of Public Communication and Media Agency, stated that the ministry conducted a broader enforcement action from October 2024 to January 2025, blocking a total of 711,522 contents across multiple platforms.
The breakdown of the blocked content reveals the scope of enforcement: 652,147 contents were blocked on websites and IP addresses, 29,964 on Meta platforms, 17,836 on file-sharing platforms, and thousands more from Google, YouTube, X, Telegram, and TikTok.
It is noteworthy that since 2017, the government has removed approximately 5.5 million digital advertisements related to gambling.
The ministry specifically targeted Instagram accounts that used a large following to promote gambling websites.
Officials emphasized that effective prevention requires community involvement, particularly parental monitoring of children's digital activities.
The government has also established multiple reporting channels for the public to report gambling-related content, including a dedicated website, WhatsApp number, and an anti-gambling chatbot.
