Indonesian Internet Service Providers (ISPs) risk losing their licenses if they fail to comply with efforts to curb illegal online gambling.
The measure was announced by the Indonesian Communication and Information Ministry (Kominfo).
Minister Budi Arie Setiadi emphasized the necessity for ISPs to automatically synchronize with updates to the list of negative content in the Trust Positive Kominfo domain name system (DNS). This list contains entries related to illegal gambling that need to be blocked.
As of now, only 35 percent of the 1,011 ISPs in Indonesia have completed this automatic synchronization. The ministry has warned that those found non-compliant will face public announcements of their status.
Field tests conducted between 2023 and now revealed that 26 out of 136 samples still had access to prohibited content, including online gambling and adult content.
Administrative sanctions have already been implemented, with initial warnings issued to 26 ISPs and secondary warnings directed at three others.
Digital platforms such as X, Telegram, Google, Meta, and TikTok also face fines of up to INR500 million (USD31,000) if they allow online gambling content to persist on their platforms.
From November 2023 to May 2024, Kominfo identified over 20,241 keywords related to online gambling on Google and 2,702 on Meta. The most common keywords included terms like “live slot,” “RTP slot,” and “online casino.” To address these issues, Indonesia has established a task force on online gambling, with President Joko Widodo leading discussions during a recent Cabinet meeting.
