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OJK to ban online gamblers from financial services
The Financial Services Authority (OJK) plans to blacklist online gamblers to stop them from using financial services in Indonesia.
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Users access online gambling websites through their smartphones on May 30, 2024, in Bogor, West Java. (Antara/Yulius Satria Wijaya)
T
he Financial Services Authority (OJK) has revealed a plan to blacklist online gamblers, preventing them from accessing financial services in Indonesia.
Rizal Ramadhani, deputy commissioner for conduct supervision of financial service business actors and consumer protection at the OJK, said the authority would list individuals involved in online gambling in an information system, allowing providers to deny them financial services.
"We will include them in this information system, so it is hoped that this will have a deterrent effect," Rizal said during a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday, as quoted by Tempo.
He confirmed that the OJK is actively fighting online gambling, both as part of the online gambling task force and as the financial sector regulator.
The authorities, along with the Communications and Information Ministry, have blocked over 6,000 accounts linked to online gambling.
Meanwhile, Anton Daryono, head of the payment system surveillance and consumer protection department at Bank Indonesia (BI), revealed that the central bank had identified 689 accounts suspected of involvement in online gambling from 27 payment service providers over the past four weeks.
The authority also found 123 websites linked to online gambling and 150 accounts that were traded on e-commerce platforms and social media.
"BI has asked payment service providers to identify, investigate and take action, including blocking and closing accounts and reporting gambling websites to the ministry," Anton said.
As of July 2024, BI received a report from the ministry about 504 accounts suspected of online gambling.
Of these, 431 were payment service provider users, with 88 involved in normal transactions and 343 in gambling, leading to the closure of all electronic money accounts.
