Indonesia Orders Banks to Check Over 36,000 Suspected Online Gambling Accounts

Indonesia has been aggressively targeting illegal online gambling in recent months. Now, authorities have instructed domestic banks to intensify their checks on 36,191 suspected accounts believed to be linked to such activities. This measure is part of a broader strategy to cut off financial flows to the black market and mitigate social consequences.

The Financial Services Authority (OJK), Indonesia's financial regulator, had previously issued instructions to freeze 25,912 accounts. This directive was based on data provided by the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs. The authority requires banks to verify the identity of account holders using the national ID number (NIK) system and to conduct enhanced due diligence (EDD) before permanently closing the accounts.

Numbers and facts

Between 2023 and July 2025 alone, the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) identified over 25,000 accounts associated with online gambling. The total funds in these accounts are estimated at around 1 trillion Rupiah, approximately 61 million US dollars. Another source, AGBrief, reports that Indonesian authorities had frozen over 33,000 bank accounts linked to illegal online betting by April 2026. The figures vary slightly but indicate the immense scale of the problem.

Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf also expressed concern. He revealed that approximately 600,000 recipients of government social assistance may have misused their funds for online gambling.

"These beneficiaries need to be educated to use the aid for its intended purpose - not for gambling or other inappropriate uses. More than 600,000 social assistance recipients are suspected of playing online gambling. This is deeply concerning." - Saifullah Yusuf, Social Affairs Minister of Indonesia

The Ministry of Social Affairs has already revoked assistance from 230,000 individuals proven to have misused the funds. Another 300,000 cases are currently under investigation. The OJK also calls on banks to improve their cybercrime detection capabilities and optimize systems for identifying suspicious financial transactions.

Background

Indonesia is a country with strict gambling laws. Online gambling is illegal there and is under strict scrutiny by the authorities. Due to the booming black market, the government fears immense social and economic damage, especially in low-income segments of the population. The continued efforts to freeze bank accounts and monitor transactions are a clear indicator of the political will to curb illegal gambling.

International news portals such as igamingtoday.com and jakartaglobe.id regularly report on these developments. The discrepancy between the numbers mentioned - 36,191 suspected accounts in the latest report and 25,912 frozen accounts in an earlier report - shows that investigations and measures are dynamic and constantly expanding. It is an ongoing process where new findings lead to further actions.

Why it matters for German players

For German players who enjoy reputable online gambling, the news from Indonesia serves as an important reminder of the significance of regulated markets. While the Indonesian government is taking massive actions with extensive account freezes and investigations against the black market, Germany's Gambling State Treaty 2021 (GlüStV 2021) provides a transparent and secure legal framework.

Thanks to regulation, players in Germany can choose providers licensed by the Joint Gaming Authority of the Federal States (GGL). These providers are on the so-called whitelist and are subject to strict requirements. These include betting limits of 1 Euro per spin on slot machines and a monthly deposit limit of 1,000 Euros, which is controlled by the central monitoring system LUGAS. This system ensures that players cannot deposit uncontrolled high amounts across different providers. These measures aim to protect players and prevent the development of gambling addiction.

In contrast to Indonesia, where players are unprotected with illegal providers and authorities can only intervene retrospectively, the German market offers protective mechanisms that take effect from the outset. This gives players the assurance that they are playing in a fair and controlled environment.

What it means for GGL-licensed casinos

The situation in Indonesia underscores the need for robust regulatory mechanisms. For GGL-licensed casinos in Germany, this confirms the chosen path. The strict regulations in Germany, such as the one-euro limit per spin and the 1,000-euro deposit limit, not only serve player protection but also create an environment where illegal practices find it significantly harder to gain a foothold.

While banks in Indonesia are forced to monitor and freeze thousands of accounts to stop illegal activities, German regulations prevent many of these problems proactively. The LUGAS system, which monitors deposits across providers, is an example of such a preventive approach. It minimizes the risk of players falling into debt traps and of opaque financial flows being misused for criminal purposes. German regulations may seem too restrictive to some, but they offer a fundamental security that is sorely lacking in unregulated markets.