Indonesia freezes 27,395 bank accounts over online gambling links

Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) has ordered banks to freeze 27,395 accounts suspected of links to online gambling.

The move is part of a nationwide crackdown on illegal activities affecting the country’s financial system. OJK’s Chief Executive of Banking Supervision, Dian Ediana Rae, said the number of accounts flagged has risen from 25,912 last month. 

The move follows investigations by the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) and OJK’s internal analysis. Banks were instructed to close accounts connected to National Identity Numbers (NIK) linked to gambling and to strengthen monitoring of suspicious transactions.

From October 2024 to September 2025, Komdigi removed 2.8 million online posts, a majority of them related to unregulated gambling. “More than 2.8 million items have been taken down from Indonesia’s digital space, with 2.1 million of them linked to online gambling,” said Komdigi’s Director General of Digital Space Monitoring, Alexander Sabar, in Jakarta on Wednesday.

About 1.93 million items were removed from websites, 97,779 from file-sharing platforms, and tens of thousands from social media, including Meta, Google, X, Telegram, and TikTok.

The ministry is piloting a Content Moderation Compliance System (SAMAN) to ensure digital platforms follow regulations. Sabar urged citizens to report harmful online content, especially gambling-related posts, through official channels.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Social Affairs has suspended welfare payments for thousands of families involved in online gambling. Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf (Gus Ipul) said around 600,000 social assistance recipients were linked to gambling, with over 300,000 benefits terminated.

The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) traced IDR 542.5 billion (US$32.7 million) spent on gambling by 132,557 beneficiaries, mainly via e-wallets and banks such as BCA, BRI, BNI, and Mandiri.

Saifullah emphasized a re-verification process to ensure fairness. Deputy Minister Agus Jabo Priyono confirmed approval from President Prabowo Subianto for strict sanctions on gambling-linked aid misuse.

From 2017 to June 2025, PPATK estimates online gambling platforms processed IDR 976.8 trillion (US$58.9 billion) through 709 million transactions. Authorities are also monitoring VPN use, with 39% of Indonesian internet users reportedly accessing restricted content in 2022.