Indonesia gambling task force unveils action plan

Chief security minister Hadi Tjahjanto said the newly formed task force will initiate three immediate lines of action.

Indonesia.- Hadi Tjahjanto, Indonesia’s chief security minister, held a press conference on Thursday (June 20) to announce the work of the country’s newly created task force to tackle online gambling. He said there will be three main lines of action: freezing accounts, cracking down on the buying and selling of accounts, and cracking down on online gambling transactions via top-ups at minimarkets.

The task force was created under Presidential Decree No. 21 and will operate until December 31. Gambling is banned in Indonesia and is illegal for both citizens and foreigners. Anyone found gambling can face severe fines and/or imprisonment.

This week, Indonesia’s financial intelligence agency, the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), announced that it had blocked approximately 5,000 bank accounts linked to online gambling operations. The accounts are believed to have facilitated the transfer of IDR5tn (US$305m) to at least 20 countries.