Indonesian minister denies proposing tax on online gambling

The minister for communications has reiterated that online gambling is ilegal.

Indonesia.- Budie Arie, Indonesia’s communication and informatics minister, has clarified recent reports that suggested he had proposed a tax policy for online gambling. He denied making the proposal and stressed that online gambling remains illegal in Indonesia.

During an interview with Tempo, Arie insisted that he is not in a position to propose tax policies for online gambling. He attributed the confusion to the media misquoting statements he made in a meeting with the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission I the previous week. He said the discussions at the meeting were focused on addressing the issue of online gambling in Indonesia, not legitimising it.

In August, Arie reported that from July 2018 to August 2023, the ministry blocked 886,719 pieces of online gambling content, averaging daily blocks on 1,500-2,000 sites and dozens of applications including apps like Higgs Domino Island.