Indonesia’s PPATK credits President for online gambling drop
Nearly a week after Indonesia reported a year-on-year decline in online gambling activity, the head of the country’s financial intelligence unit has told lawmakers that firm action taken by President Prabowo Subianto played a central role in reducing gambling-related transactions during 2025.
Speaking at a working meeting with Commission III of the House of Representatives at the parliament complex in Jakarta on Tuesday, Indonesia’s Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) head Ivan Yustiavandana said sustained pressure from the president allowed authorities to curb a sector that had been expanding rapidly for years.
“If it were not for the firmness of our President, Prabowo Subianto, we would not have been able to make history by reducing online gambling,” Yustiavandana said during the meeting.
Online gambling turnover down 20% in 2025
PPATK data show that online gambling transactions in 2025 declined by 20 percent compared with the previous year. Total money circulation linked to online gambling reached Rp286.84 trillion (US$19bn), down from Rp359.81 trillion ($24bn) in 2024.
Yustiavandana told lawmakers that without intervention, the scale of online gambling activity could have been far higher.
“With advances in financial technology, cryptocurrencies, and other financial innovations, he estimated that the potential value of online gambling transactions could have reached Rp1,100 trillion,” PPATK said.
However, following coordination across institutions, including with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs, the total value of transactions was significantly reduced.
“However, following cross-institutional coordination, including with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs, online gambling transactions have now been reduced to Rp268 trillion,” Yustiavandana said.
He added that online gambling activity had continued to rise steadily between 2017 and 2020, although he did not provide a detailed breakdown for each year.
“That has saved many of our people,” he said.
Large transaction volumes continue despite decline
Earlier PPATK findings released in January showed that while turnover fell, online gambling activity remained widespread in 2025. According to the agency, 422.1 million online gambling transactions were recorded during the year. Total deposits linked to those transactions reached Rp36.01 trillion ($2.4bn).
PPATK Public Relations Substantive Group Coordinator M. Natsir Kongah said participation levels remained high. “A total of 12.3 million people made judol (online gambling) deposits through various channels such as banks, e-wallets, and QRIS,” Natsir said in his official statement on 29 January.
Deposit volumes also declined from Rp51.3 trillion ($3.4bn) in 2024 to Rp36.01 trillion ($2.4bn) in 2025. PPATK noted that the use of QRIS, Indonesia’s national QR code payment system, increased significantly compared with banks and e-wallets.
Gambling still dominates suspicious transaction reports
Despite the reduction in turnover, PPATK said online gambling activity continued to dominate suspicious financial transaction reporting. Of the 183,281 reports of suspicious financial transactions analysed during the year, 47.49 percent originated from criminal acts related to fraud. A further 18.71 percent were related to fraud, while 5.73 percent were linked to corruption.
Overall reporting volumes also increased. Yustiavandana said PPATK received 43 million reports from reporting entities in 2025, marking a 22.5 percent increase from 35.6 million reports recorded in 2024.
Lawmakers urge stronger follow-up enforcement
While welcoming the reduction in gambling transactions, members of Commission III urged PPATK to strengthen coordination with law enforcement agencies to ensure that cases are followed through.
Commission III member Mangihut Sinaga said lawmakers believed PPATK had supplied extensive data and intelligence, but many cases had not yet resulted in concrete enforcement action.
“Going forward, improvements are needed in analysing financial transactions to ensure fair legal processes and tangible benefits for the public,” Sinaga said.
The comments reflect ongoing concern among legislators that while data collection and analysis have improved, enforcement outcomes must keep pace as online gambling networks adapt to new technologies and payment methods.
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