Indonesia online gambling crackdown targets 39,923
Indonesia’s financial regulator has expanded its campaign against illegal online betting, asking commercial banks to conduct enhanced checks and take action on 39,923 accounts suspected of being connected to gambling activity.
The Financial Services Authority (OJK) announced the latest figure after its October monthly board meeting in Jakarta on November 5. The account total is 1,127 higher than the 38,796 accounts identified in early October, indicating that the review of suspected financial links remains active.
The measures place banks at the centre of an effort to disrupt the movement of money associated with online betting. Rather than relying only on action against gambling websites and operators, regulators are seeking to identify and restrict the accounts that may support deposits, withdrawals and other transactions.
Indonesia online gambling crackdown widens bank scrutiny
OJK has instructed banks to apply enhanced due diligence (EDD) to accounts flagged as potentially linked to online gambling. The regulator has also called for accounts to be blocked where appropriate.
EDD is a more detailed review applied to customers or transactions considered to carry higher risks. In practice, banks may need to examine customer profiles, verify relevant information and assess transaction patterns more closely before deciding what further action is required.
The latest instructions also extend beyond the specific accounts already identified. Banks have been asked to examine other active accounts associated with the same National Identity Number (NIK) as a person suspected of involvement in online gambling.
That identity-based approach could help investigators and financial institutions identify additional accounts connected to the same individual. It also broadens the scope of the review from a list of flagged accounts to a wider examination of financial relationships tied to the identities under scrutiny.
The regulator’s instructions do not mean that every account connected through an identity match has been publicly confirmed as an account used for gambling. The accounts are described as suspected or indicated links, and banks are expected to carry out the required checks and follow applicable procedures.
Financial flows remain a major enforcement concern
The scale of suspected betting-related transactions is one reason authorities are focusing on the financial system. Data from Indonesia’s Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), presented by the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency in September, put online gambling turnover at an estimated Rp86.8 trillion (about US$4.79 billion) in the first half of 2026.
The figure highlights the size of the financial activity that enforcement agencies are attempting to disrupt. It also shows why account monitoring has become an important part of the response: blocking access to websites may limit visibility or access, but it does not necessarily stop the payment channels used to move funds.
The authorities are therefore pursuing several parts of the transaction chain. Banks are being asked to scrutinise suspected accounts, while regulators and law enforcement agencies are coordinating to identify and interrupt payment routes that may facilitate illegal betting.
On November 4, Deputy Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs Nezar Patria called for closer cooperation among OJK, Bank Indonesia, PPATK and the Indonesian National Police. The agencies have different responsibilities across financial supervision, payment systems, transaction analysis and criminal enforcement, making coordination important when tracing activity across institutions.
For banks, the expanded checks create an operational responsibility to review account information and transaction behaviour in line with regulatory instructions. The process also requires care: decisions affecting customer access to banking services must be based on appropriate checks rather than assumptions drawn from a single indicator.
Digital content removals continue alongside bank action
Indonesia’s campaign also includes efforts to reduce the online visibility of gambling services. Figures from the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs show that authorities had neutralised 4.03 million pieces of gambling-related content between October 20, 2024, and September 11, 2026.
Those items formed part of 5.15 million negative web content entries flagged over the same period. The scale of removals suggests that online content enforcement remains a substantial component of the national response, running in parallel with financial monitoring.
However, content removal and account restrictions address different parts of the ecosystem. Taking down a web page or digital promotion can make a service harder to find, while action by banks may make it more difficult for operators and users to move money through the formal financial system.
The latest Indonesia online gambling crackdown combines these approaches with broader inter-agency cooperation. Its effectiveness will depend not only on the number of accounts flagged or pages removed, but also on whether authorities can identify connected networks, follow transaction trails and sustain action against the channels that support illegal operations.
What the latest account figure signals
The increase to 39,923 accounts does not, by itself, establish how many accounts have been blocked, closed or found to have directly processed gambling transactions. It records the number of accounts identified for enhanced scrutiny and potential action under the regulator’s instructions.
That distinction matters when assessing the results of the campaign. The number of accounts under review is an indicator of the scale of the task facing banks, but it should not be treated as a confirmed count of offenders or completed closures.
The move to examine accounts linked through a shared NIK could lead to a broader review of suspected activity. At the same time, the use of enhanced due diligence gives banks a mechanism to assess risk and determine the appropriate response to each case.
For Indonesia, the next measure of progress will be whether financial institutions and enforcement bodies can translate account-level intelligence into sustained disruption of illegal betting payments. The latest directive signals a continued focus on the financial infrastructure behind online gambling, alongside efforts to remove digital content and strengthen cooperation among national agencies.
About Asia Casino News
Asia Casino News covers developments across the casino, iGaming, betting, regulation and gaming industries in Asia and international markets. Our coverage follows the legal, regulatory and commercial changes shaping the global gambling industry. Visit Asia Casino News for more industry news, analysis and gambling guides.
Sources
ANTARA News
Comments