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Police arrest influencers for promoting online gambling
Police in Bogor and Yogyakarta have together arrested 10 influencers as suspects for allegedly promoting online gambling via their social media accounts, with all potentially facing charges carrying a maximum 10-year sentence under the ITE Law.
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People use smartphones to access online gambling websites on May 30, 2024 in Bogor, West Java. (Antara/Yulius Satria Wijaya)
B
ogor Police have arrested four female influencers in West Java over the past week for allegedly promoting online gambling via their social media accounts amid the government’s nationwide crackdown against the illegal activity.
The four influencers, identified only by their initials IP, LN, MS and AP, were arrested in different districts across Bogor regency.
"One of them is a minor who is still studying in high school," Bogor Police chief Comr. Adhimas Sriyono Putra said, as quoted by TribunNews.com.
IP said she was paid between Rp 600,000 (US$36.60) and Rp 900,000 to post a link to an online gambling website on her Instagram account, which has around 14,000 followers.
"I need money because I don't work. I personally don't gamble," she said.
Read also: Online gambling epidemic
Separately, the Yogyakarta Police detained six internet personalities in the province over similar allegations.
According to the police, the suspects were between 22 to 49 years old and received between Rp 3 million and Rp 5 million each month for endorsing online gambling platforms on their social media accounts.
All suspects could face up to 10 years in prison for violating the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law.
In recent weeks, the government has ramped up its efforts to discourage people from engaging in online gambling.
The illicit activity reportedly involves roughly 4 million users and an annual transaction value of around Rp 600 trillion.
Read also: Ministry blocks 1 million online gambling sites in first half this year
The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK), the country’s anti-money laundering agency, revealed last Wednesday that more than 1,000 national and regional lawmakers, including 82 members of the House of Representatives, had been gambling online.
The PPATK said it had traced 63,000 transactions linked to public officials, and that some had deposited up to several hundred billion rupiah.
In the past six months, the government has blocked more than 1 million online gambling sites, the same number of sites to which it had blocked access over the past five years, the Communications and Information Ministry said last week.
The ministry estimated that the number of local online gambling platforms was growing at a daily rate of 10,000 sites. (nal)
