Gambling is illegal in Indonesia under Article 303 of the nation’s Criminal Code, punishable by up to four years in prison, increasing to six years for repeat offenders.
Speaking on a podcast, Communication and Information Technology Minister Johnny Plate said: “Between 2018 and 31 July of this year, 534,138 online gambling accounts have been terminated.”
He went on to detail efforts taken by the Government to block online gambling sites, citing difficulties as new sites continually appear.
Authorities flagged a number of online platforms suspected of offering gambling services, these included Domino Qiu Qiu, Topfun, Pop Domino, MVP Domino, Pop Poker and Ludo Dream.
Allegedly, a range of online platforms registered with the Government while illicitly offering gambling services at the same time.
Plate confirmed that the Government will work to re-assess registered online platforms and ban the services if any gambling activity is discovered.
The news comes after National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo issued orders to his staff to totally eradicate online gambling, including parties who back or support the activity.
Earlier this month, authorities shut down an online gambling syndicate accused of running eight games and five gambling websites: KingKoi88, Winlab88, Goldmain, Bsbox and Senarbet.
Eight suspects were arrested in a raid at an apartment building in Jakarta on 13 August, accused of managing online gambling, and providing support including marketing and customer service.
