Explained: How Indonesia is tackling online gambling among minors
Nearly a week after Indonesia’s government raised concerns over the growing spread of online gambling after officials revealed that nearly 200,000 minors in the country had been exposed to gambling content and activities online, lawmakers and ministers are now calling for stronger digital literacy, tighter supervision and broader child protection measures.
The issue has sparked wider concern in Indonesia over how online gambling networks are reaching children through social media, online games and digital advertising, despite gambling remaining illegal under national law. In response, authorities are strengthening awareness campaigns, school education programmes and enforcement efforts targeting online gambling networks.
Parliament pushes for stronger digital literacy measures
Speaking on Friday, House of Representatives Speaker Puan Maharani urged the government to strengthen the national digital literacy movement in a systematic and sustainable manner to prevent children from being exposed to online gambling. As per local media reports, Maharani said the online gambling situation in Indonesia had entered a more worrying phase, with children becoming one of the most vulnerable groups affected by the activity.
“The online gambling phenomenon in Indonesia is currently entering a much more worrying phase. While this practice was previously identical with adults, children have now become the most vulnerable victims,” she said.
Maharani referred to data showing that nearly 200,000 Indonesian children had been exposed to online gambling. She said the situation required serious intervention involving different institutions and sectors.
Alongside stronger digital literacy efforts, she called for special programmes focused on character protection and children’s mental health in the digital era.
She also stressed that schools could not monitor children’s digital activities alone and said families must become the first line of defence. According to her, children’s wider social environments, including neighbourhoods and friendship circles, also needed to play a role.
Maharani said the government already has Government Regulation Number 17 of 2025 on the Governance of Electronic System Implementation in Child Protection, known as PP Tunas, to address child protection in digital spaces.
She encouraged stricter implementation of the regulation, including preventive action and sanctions against service providers that allow online gambling promotion.
“The state must not be outpaced by online gambling networks that operate massively and trans-nationally,” Maharani stated.
Education ministry expands awareness campaigns in schools
A day earlier on 21 May (Thursday), Primary and Secondary Education Minister Abdul Mu’ti said strengthening literacy about the dangers of online gambling in schools had become important following findings that almost 200,000 children had been exposed to such activities.
Mu’ti said the government had signed a joint agreement involving six ministries and the National Police Chief regarding digital technology use and restrictions on social media use for children under the age of 16.
According to the minister, the government was strengthening preventive measures through cooperation between ministries and institutions to better control children’s use of digital technology.
He said the ministry would include educational material on safe and healthy digital media use during school orientation activities known as MPLS.
“At our ministry, through the MPLS programme, one of the materials will be counseling on the dangers of online gambling for school children. This is because some of those exposed are simply unaware. So, they might be playing games and then wander into online gambling,” he said.
Mu’ti explained that many children lacked understanding about the risks associated with digital spaces. He added that children playing online games could easily be redirected to gambling websites through online links and advertisements.
The ministry said it would continue strengthening counselling and educational activities through what it described as a four-education-ecosystem approach involving schools, families, communities and the media.
“This is crucial so that our children are not exposed to online gambling, which has now become a very serious problem,” he added.
Authorities tighten surveillance
At the same time, Indonesian authorities have also intensified efforts against transnational online gambling networks operating in the country. Immigration and Corrections Minister Agus Andrianto said his ministry would increase surveillance to prevent foreign nationals from running online gambling operations in Indonesia.
The announcement followed the arrest of 320 foreign nationals suspected of involvement in illegal digital gambling networks.
“I have instructed the Director General to increase surveillance at all locations that could potentially be used to host similar activities,” Andrianto said while speaking to reporters in Bekasi, West Java, on Tuesday.
He said the ministry faced challenges in detecting problematic foreign nationals entering Indonesia because many used visa-free entry facilities.
To respond to this, the ministry plans to strengthen cooperation with the Indonesian National Police to monitor the activities and residences of suspicious individuals.
Indonesia’s Criminal Investigation Department uncovered the international gambling network in West Jakarta and arrested 320 foreign nationals. Those arrested included 228 Vietnamese nationals, 57 Chinese nationals, 13 Myanmar nationals, 11 Laotian nationals, five Thai nationals, three Malaysian nationals and three Cambodian nationals.
Following the raid at Hayam Wuruk Plaza Tower, police handed over the foreign nationals to the Directorate General of Immigration for further processing as part of wider action against transnational crime networks.
Authorities said such syndicates were becoming increasingly complex because they relied heavily on international connections and digital technology.
In addition to criminal investigations, officials are also examining possible immigration violations and misuse of stay permits and immigration documents.
Concerns over minors exposed to gambling
The latest developments follow concerns raised by the Indonesian government on 15 May after officials revealed that nearly 200,000 minors had been exposed to gambling content and online gambling activities.
Speaking at an anti-online gambling forum in Medan, Communications and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said around 80,000 of those exposed were children under the age of 10.
The government described the situation as a major social issue while continuing efforts to block illegal gambling platforms and reduce gambling-related harm.
Hafid warned that online gambling posed a serious threat to Indonesia’s younger population and said many gambling platforms were designed to keep users playing while increasing losses over time.
“Online gambling is a scam with a system designed to ensure players almost always lose in the long run,” she said.
Indonesia prohibits all forms of gambling under national law. However, offshore operators continue targeting Indonesian users through websites, mobile applications and social media advertising.
Authorities have increased website blocking operations and investigations into gambling-related networks in recent years, although officials believe stronger public awareness campaigns are also necessary.
Hafid stressed that enforcement measures alone would not be enough and called for wider digital literacy campaigns to educate families and communities about the dangers linked to online gambling.
“We are not just blocking access or taking down sites. The most important thing is reaching the wider public with these facts so that awareness grows from within families and communities,” she said.
The ministry also placed pressure on major technology platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, urging them to remove gambling-related content more quickly.
According to Hafid, all digital platforms operating in Indonesia shared moral and legal responsibility in preventing the spread of illegal gambling content.
Officials said gambling advertisements, promotional accounts and online influencers continued directing traffic towards gambling sites, including content reaching minors and teenagers.
The government also linked online gambling to wider social and financial harm, including household disputes, financial difficulties and domestic violence associated with gambling addiction.
Authorities have since intensified cooperation between government agencies, law enforcement bodies and digital companies as part of a wider campaign against online gambling across the country.
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