Indonesia blocks almost 900,000 online gambling content over five years

JAKARTA: The Indonesian government has blocked access to 886,719 pieces of online gambling content over a period of five years since July 2018, with an expert noting that regulating rather than banning such sites would be more effective. 

“On average, we terminate access to 1,500 to 2,000 sites and dozens of applications daily, including gaming applications related to online gambling, similar to Higgs Domino Island," said Minister of Communications and Informatics Budi Arie Setiadi on Tuesday (August 8), according to CNN Indonesia. 

Higgs Domino Island is one of the gambling apps blocked by the Indonesian government. According to the Google Play Store, the app has been downloaded 50 million times. 

Gambling is prohibited in Indonesia, with a threat of imprisonment and fines for players and organisers. 

Mr Setiadi noted that as of Monday, some 42,622 online gambling content have been blocked since he was appointed to his position on Jul 17. 

He also pointed out that such online gambling sites receive massive monetary gains. 

"According to the reports and data we got, one site called Higgs Domino Island can even reach a turnover of 2.2 trillion rupiah per month, or the equivalent of US$150 million. 

“(This means that) in a year, (their earnings) can reach around 27 trillion rupiah and (this is for) only one site," Mr Setiadi was quoted as saying by Kontan. 

He added that poor people and even children are victims of such gambling sites. 

"Imagine that for a day of slot gambling, 30,000 rupiah (is spent). (In a month), 900,000 rupiah (is spent) and the victims even include small children. So the people are very disadvantaged," he reportedly said.

Mr Setiadi said that the ministry’s efforts have not solved the online gambling issue, according to CNN Indonesia. 

“We are … fully aware that the efforts I mentioned above have not resolved the problem of online gambling because every day, thousands of new sites and dozens of applications continue to appear which can be downloaded from outside the Apple Appstore and Google Play store,” he reportedly said. 

In the future, he added, his team will coordinate with the National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo to handle the issue. 

He also reportedly promised to increase the supervision of gambling sites and content, as well as to seek comprehensive information for law enforcement which falls under the authority of the police.

According to CNN Indonesia, Mr Setiadi appealed to the entire community to monitor and report any online gambling content to both his ministry and the police.

An expert that CNA spoke to noted that other countries typically regulate rather than ban online gambling sites. 

“Blocking these sites has not been effective because the IP (internet protocol) banning efforts are like a game of whack-a-mole; as soon as a site is blocked, it often pops up again under another name and domain and the situation remains the same,” said Dr Chew Han Ei, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies’ Social Lab. 

“Besides, regulating these sites will allow the authorities to use the revenue generated from gambling taxes for the national budget.” 

Dr Chew added that it is better to regulate than to ban gaming operators so that they can help to mitigate gambling-related harms and protect vulnerable populations such as children and the youth. 

“However, since there are no legal casinos in Indonesia, the authorities have to rely on a limited set of policy levers and banning online gambling sites is in line with the national prohibition on gambling,” he told CNA.