Indonesia has removed more than 11,000 families from its social assistance register after detecting indications that welfare funds had been used for online gambling.
Saifullah Yusuf, Social Affairs Minister, said the Ministry had cross-checked beneficiary data with the Financial Transaction Reports & Analysis Centre (PPATK), Indonesia’s financial intelligence agency.
Yusuf told reporters: “For this year, we have unlisted more than 11,000 beneficiaries in the first quarter and 75 more in the second.”
The Ministry says the action was intended to ensure that social assistance reaches eligible recipients and is not diverted into illegal online gambling. Indonesia prohibits gambling, but online betting and casino platforms remain widely accessible through offshore websites, social media channels, digital wallets and informal payment networks.
The latest figures are significantly lower than those recorded in 2025, when hundreds of thousands of social aid recipients were removed or flagged after checks by PPATK-linked accounts to gambling related transactions. Reports last year cited more than 600,000 welfare recipients affected by the review.
The Ministry of Social Affairs is expected to continue working with PPATK on account audits over the next six months. The approach reflects a wider Indonesian strategy that treats online gambling not only as a criminal or moral issue, but also as a financial control problem involving banks, e-wallets and identity data.
Indonesia has increased enforcement against online gambling under President Prabowo Subianto’s administration, with authorities targeting payment accounts, digital platforms and alleged gambling networks. PPATK has previously reported large scale gambling related transaction flows across the financial system, prompting banks and state agencies to strengthen monitoring.
For regulators in other markets, Indonesia’s approach is notable because it uses welfare eligibility and financial intelligence as enforcement tools. That may be difficult to replicate in regulated jurisdictions, but it shows how governments facing large illegal online gambling markets are increasingly moving beyond website blocking and police action.
(Image Credit: Beritasatu.com/Hendro Dahlan Situmorang)
