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View all search resultsGovt blocks prediction market Polymarket amid bet on Prabowo’s presidency
Without mentioning the bet on the President, the Communications and Digital Ministry categorized Polymarket as an online gambling site for facilitating money-based betting on specific outcomes or events.
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The application of prediction market Polymarket is displayed on a smartphone on April 10, 2026. (Shutterstock/gguy)
T
he Communications and Digital Ministry has blocked access to United States-based online prediction market Polymarket around the same time it featured a bet on when President Prabowo Subianto would be ousted that was circulating widely on social media.
The ministry announced on Friday it had restricted access to the platform, further categorizing Polymarket as an online gambling site for facilitating money-based betting on specific outcomes or events despite using blockchain technology and cryptocurrency assets.
Authorities would also track social media accounts affiliated with the website to further limit their spread in the country.
“The government will not provide space for any form of online gambling in Indonesia,” the ministry’s digital space supervision director general Alexander Sabar said in a statement on Friday.
“Activities such as [in] Polymarket contain elements of monetary betting and speculation over uncertain events, making them violate prevailing laws and regulations in Indonesia,” he went on to say.
In its statement, the ministry said the ban was done to protect citizens in the digital space, while noting similar bans had been imposed by authorities in Singapore, Brazil and India.
Without mentioning the bet on Prabowo, the ministry warned the public against “accessing or participating in digital betting-based speculative activities”, which it said may lead to financial losses and are restricted in the country.
