Indonesia freezes nearly 40,000 accounts in gambling crackdown

Banks have been ordered to strengthen identity checks and monitor transactions as authorities target the financial networks behind illegal operators.

Indonesia.- Indonesia continues to order bank account freezes over alleged links to online gambling. Speaking after the monthly Board of Commissioners meeting, Dian Ediana Rae, chief executive of Banking Supervision at the Financial Services Authority (OJK), said regulators had now ordered the suspension of 39,923 accounts, an increase of 1,127 since early October 2026.

To prevent illegal operators from simply opening new accounts, the OJK has instructed financial institutions to apply Enhanced Due Diligence. Banks must conduct deeper background checks, analyse complex transaction patterns, and automatically block any other active accounts associated with the same National Identity Number. 

The measures form part of a inter-agency operation bringing together the OJK, Bank Indonesia, the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK), and the Indonesian National Police. PPATK data revealed that online gambling networks handled an estimated Rp86.8tn (US$4.79bn) in financial turnover in the first half of 2026 alone.

The Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs have also reported that internet regulators took down over 4.03 million pieces of gambling-related web content between late October 2024 and September 2026. Deputy Minister Nezar Patria stressed that dismantling transnational networks requires simultaneously shutting down both their online presence and their underlying payment networks.