A major operation in Indonesia has highlighted the size of the country’s illegal gambling market.
Indonesia’s National Police, known as the Polri, froze and seized 811 bank accounts containing Rp154.3bn (approximately £7m) as part of a crackdown on online gambling – which is strictly prohibited in the country.
In total, 576 accounts were frozen, worth Rp63.7bn (£2.9bn), and 235 accounts were seized containing Rp90.6bn (£4.1bn).
“All are suspected to be linked to online gambling activity,” Senior Commissioner Ferdy Saragih told local media.
“We will continue to track and dismantle online gambling networks. It is part of our commitment to cleaning up illegal activity in the digital space.”
Polri Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo also ordered greater action against online gambling, citing its harmful impact on society.
This week, the Online Gaming Eradication Desk, a taskforce made up of 22 ministries, including the National Police, confirmed that it had made 259 arrests in relation to the illegal gambling market between May and August 2025..
In addition, the Police confirmed that they had monitored and submitted requests to block 93,012 gambling sites and content in the same period.
The crackdown was undertaken in conjunction with the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), an organisation that has spearheaded significant efforts to curtail Indonesia’s black market.
In May, Indonesia’s Financial Intelligence Agency temporarily froze more than 28,000 bank accounts suspected of involvement in illegal online gambling.
According to the PPATK, many of the suspended accounts were either bought illegally, or had remained dormant and later taken over for unlawful transactions.
More recently, the Indonesian government has begun preparing new rules to target the use of VPNs by Indonesian nationals which will require VPN providers to register with the government.
According to Surfshark, Indonesia ranks alongside India and China as the world’s biggest markets for VPNs.
Although not explicitly earmarked to tackle the illegal gambling market, VPNs are widely used by Indonesians to access international platforms.
Despite the prohibition on iGaming, reports suggest that there are an estimated 3 million active players in Indonesia, totalling transactions of Rp400trn (£18.1bn).
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