The government of Indonesia has significantly escalated its war on the country's vast illegal online gambling market, summoning representatives from global
The government of Indonesia has significantly escalated its war on the country’s vast illegal online gambling market, summoning representatives from global technology giants Meta Platforms (Facebook, Instagram) and ByteDance (TikTok). The government has demanded that the platforms step up their content moderation and proactively remove all harmful material, including gambling and pornography, without waiting to be prompted by official requests.
A senior official warned of severe consequences for non-compliance. “Penalties in the rules are reprimands, fines, temporary suspension, revoking of access or even kicking them out from a list of registered electronic platforms,” Deputy Communications Minister Angga Raka Prabowo told Reuters. Meetings with YouTube and X are also planned.
The move to hold social media platforms accountable is just one part of a much broader, multi-agency offensive designed to cripple the financial infrastructure of the illegal gambling market. In a parallel action, the Indonesian National Police (Polri) announced it has frozen 811 bank accounts, containing a total of Rp154.3 billion (approx. $9.5m), that are strongly suspected of being linked to online gambling networks.
This follows an earlier order from the country’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) for banks to block nearly 26,000 accounts that had been flagged for gambling-related activity. E-wallet providers are also under intense pressure, with the financial intelligence unit, PPATK, reporting that gambling deposits through e-wallets reached $97.8 million in the first half of 2025 alone.
The government’s aggressive, coordinated response is being driven by the sheer scale of the problem. PPATK has estimated that the total value of Indonesia’s online gambling economy could reach a staggering Rp1,200 trillion (approx. $73bn) by the end of 2025. This massive, untaxed shadow economy is seen as a major threat to the country’s financial integrity and a source of significant social harm.
For the international iGaming industry, the message from Indonesia is unambiguous. With gambling strictly illegal in the world’s fourth most populous country, the government is now deploying the full force of the state to enforce its prohibition. The decision to hold global tech platforms directly responsible for the content they host is a powerful new tactic in a crackdown that shows no signs of abating.
