Indonesia has blocked 3.7 million illegal gambling websites and online gambling content since October 2024, while authorities have shut down 32,500 bank accounts linked to online gambling, according to figures reported by local media.
The latest data highlights the scale of Indonesia’s increasingly aggressive online gambling crackdown, which has become one of the largest anti-gambling enforcement campaigns in Asia. Authorities are now targeting not only illegal gambling websites but also the banking, payment and digital infrastructure supporting gambling operators.
Speaking at the OJK Banking Forum in Jakarta, Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid said the Ministry of Communications and Digital had removed millions of pieces of gambling-related content as part of a coordinated national enforcement effort.
Indonesia intensifies online gambling enforcement
The campaign reflects Indonesia’s broader strategy to disrupt illegal gambling networks at multiple levels. According to the ministry, public participation has played a significant role in identifying suspicious activity. More than 156,000 suspected online gambling accounts have been reported through the government’s cekrekening.id portal.
Authorities have also received reports involving 85,500 mobile phone numbers suspected of being connected to fraud and other illegal activities. Hafid said stronger cooperation between government agencies, financial regulators, banks and law enforcement bodies remains essential to tackling the country’s online gambling problem. The minister added that Indonesia is increasingly shifting from traditional website blocking towards more sophisticated detection methods.
Thousands of gambling-linked bank accounts closed
A major focus of Indonesia’s anti-gambling strategy is disrupting the financial networks that enable illegal gambling operators to process deposits and withdrawals.
According to data reported by local media outlet Tempo, the Ministry of Communications and Digital has submitted approximately 38,000 suspected bank accounts linked to online gambling and illegal online lending activities to the Financial Services Authority (OJK) for investigation and action. Of those accounts, 32,500 have already been closed, representing an 85.5 per cent closure rate.
Major Indonesian banks affected
Data presented at the forum showed that several major Indonesian banks had accounts linked to suspected online gambling and illegal lending activities.
Bank Central Asia (BCA) reported the highest number, with more than 7,000 flagged accounts. Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) had 6,400 accounts, followed by Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) with 6,100 and Bank Mandiri with 4,649. CIMB Niaga recorded 1,363 flagged accounts, while Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI) had 681.
Officials said the figures do not suggest any wrongdoing by the banks. Instead, they highlight the scale of the problem and the challenges facing Indonesia’s banking sector in tackling illegal financial activity. Meutya noted that BCA’s higher figure may be linked to its significantly larger customer base. She also warned financial institutions against assuming they are unaffected simply because they do not appear prominently in enforcement data.
Indonesia expands financial surveillance against online gambling
Earlier this month, the OJK told banks to tighten due diligence checks, strengthen Know Your Customer (KYC) measures, and freeze accounts suspected of being used for illegal online gambling.
The regulator recently reported that more than 36,000 accounts had been identified for potential freezing as authorities increase scrutiny of suspicious financial activity. Banks have also been directed to identify related accounts connected to the same national identification numbers and monitor transaction patterns more closely.
Authorities have increasingly warned that gambling operators are adapting quickly, frequently changing websites, payment channels, bank accounts and transaction methods to avoid detection.
Online gambling remains a major challenge in Indonesia
Despite some of Southeast Asia’s strictest anti-gambling laws, Indonesia continues to battle large-scale online gambling activity. Earlier this month, National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo revealed that authorities investigated 718 illegal online gambling cases during the first half of 2026, leading to the arrest of 1,164 suspects and the seizure of assets worth IDR1.75 trillion ($97.3 million).
Financial intelligence agency PPATK has identified online gambling as one of the country’s biggest financial crime threats. The agency previously reported that online gambling transactions totalled IDR286.84 trillion ($16 billion) in 2025, involving more than 422 million transactions and around 12.3 million people.
Authorities have additionally expanded enforcement efforts to social media platforms. Earlier this month, Indonesia partnered with Meta to combat gambling-related spam campaigns on Facebook and Instagram after regulators reported a sharp increase in gambling promotions distributed through automated bot networks.
The latest figures underline Indonesia’s position as one of the most active jurisdictions in Asia in tackling illegal online gambling. By combining website blocking, bank account closures, payment monitoring, artificial intelligence-driven detection systems and cross-agency cooperation, Indonesian authorities are attempting to dismantle the entire ecosystem supporting illegal gambling operations.
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