Key Moments:
- Indonesia has secured cooperation from 16 digital platforms, including TikTok, Meta, and Google, to enhance online gambling content moderation.
- The SAMAN moderation system is set to reach full operational status next month, after removing over 2.8 million harmful posts since October 2024.
- Authorities have suspended welfare payments for over 300,000 recipients found engaging in online gambling, with Rp542.5 billion in gambling-linked payments identified nationwide.
Joint Effort Targets Digital Gambling Content
Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi) announced a significant agreement with 16 leading digital platforms – among them TikTok, Google, and Meta – to bolster the monitoring and removal of online gambling content. Alexander Sabar, Director-General of Digital Space Supervision, shared that this enhanced collaboration is designed to curb the proliferation of gambling and other harmful material distributed online. He stated, “We hope that digital platform providers and our own internal efforts will help us close existing loopholes. Our system will be fully operational next month.”
The platforms have formally committed to stricter measures, backed by regulatory oversight, with Komdigi warning of administrative penalties for any company failing to comply with the new content moderation standards.
SAMAN Moderation System Nears Nationwide Launch
The country’s SAMAN system, introduced as a trial in October 2024 and officially rolled out in February 2025, is poised to become fully active next month at the conclusion of its pilot phase. SAMAN is engineered to enforce rules on user-generated material, including online gambling, pornography, and hate speech, with Alexander emphasizing the importance of a digital environment that is “clean, safe, healthy, and productive.”
Content Removal Figures Highlight Scope of Issue
Between October 2024 and September 16, 2025, the ministry reported the removal of over 2.8 million pieces of harmful content, with 2.1 million directly linked to online gambling. Platform-specific takedowns include:
| Platform | Content Removed |
|---|---|
| Websites | 1,932,131 |
| File-sharing Services | 97,779 |
| Meta Apps | 94,004 |
| 35,092 | |
| X (formerly Twitter) | 17,417 |
| Telegram | 1,742 |
| TikTok | 1,001 |
| Line | 14 |
| App Stores | 3 |
“These numbers illustrate the scale of digital threats we are facing,” Alexander said, highlighting the challenge without targeting free speech.
Social Consequences and Political Response
Officials have drawn attention to the harm that online gambling is inflicting on families, with increasing reports of household breakdowns. Alexander warned, “We see children losing their future, parents losing their possessions, and even households collapsing.”
Local authorities, such as those in Berau Regency, have attributed the majority of recent divorce cases to online gambling. Academic research also indicates that gambling-related divorces have climbed steadily over the last five years, reaching a peak in 2023, while courts in Depok have observed a post-pandemic uptick in such cases.
Welfare Cuts for Gambling Connections
In response to the misuse of social assistance, the Ministry of Social Affairs has begun withdrawing aid from families linked to online gambling. Minister Saifullah Yusuf has confirmed the identification of approximately 600,000 aid recipients involved in gambling, with “more than 300,000 beneficiaries” now excluded from assistance. He noted, “If it is proven they were engaged in online gambling, their benefits will be terminated immediately.”
The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) detected that, among 12 million social aid accounts examined, two million were not eligible, including 600,000 with online gambling links. Saifullah added that ongoing re-verification is needed: “It is possible some were exploited by others. That is why re-verification is necessary.”
Financial Transactions Unmasked
The misuse of public funds for gambling has been observed at scale. In West Java, 49,431 beneficiaries were found to be involved in gambling-related transactions totaling Rp199 billion (approximately $12 million), with Central Java recording Rp83 billion, East Java Rp53 billion, and Jakarta Rp36 billion.
Across the country, 132,557 aid recipients engaged in gambling payments amounting to Rp542.5 billion (approximately $32.7 million). The most frequented payment methods included the Dana e-wallet and major banks such as BCA, BRI, BNI, and Mandiri.
Law enforcement has frozen Rp154.3 billion ($9.8 million) in 811 accounts suspected of gambling activity. Senior Commissioner Ferdy Saragih, from the Cybercrime Directorate, stated, “There is strong suspicion that the funds originated from online gambling activities. This will not be the last. Police will continue pursuing the perpetrators and networks behind these practices.”
Regulatory Scrutiny on Banks, E-Wallets, and VPNs
The Financial Services Authority (OJK) earlier mandated local banks to freeze nearly 26,000 gambling-related accounts. According to PPATK, between 2017 and June 2025, gambling platforms processed Rp976.8 trillion ($61.8 billion) through 709 million individual transactions.
E-wallet payment channels have also faced tighter oversight, with gambling-related e-wallet transactions reaching Rp1.6 trillion (approximately $101 million) in the first half of 2025. DANA CEO Vince Iswara said the company’s improved fraud detection led to “an 80 percent drop in gambling-related activity.”
The government is also preparing new regulations surrounding VPN usage, citing data that 39 percent of Indonesians used VPNs in 2022, and 30 percent of those accessed restricted platforms, often including gambling sites.
- Author
Daniel Williams
