Minister of Communication and Information Budi Arie Setiadi (right), Chairman of the Financial Services Authority’s Board of Commissioners Mahendra Siregar (second from the right, wearing a green batik), and Deputy Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara (left, wearing a white shirt) left Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Thursday (4/18/2024), after attending a closed meeting regarding online gambling.
Reassuring news was heard from the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, Thursday (18/4/2024), when President Joko Widodo chaired a meeting to discuss online gambling (online).
A cabinet meeting discussing politics, security, and the economy is certainly common. Therefore, holding a meeting to discuss online gambling shows the seriousness of the government in handling online gambling, which has been proven to ruin the lives of millions of Indonesian citizens.
The widespread circulation of online gambling has been detected from its significant amount of money flow. The amount of money involved in online gambling in Indonesia throughout 2023 is considered fantastic, reaching IDR 327 trillion. Between the end of 2023 and March 2024, 5,000 online gambling-related accounts have been blocked. However, online gambling still persists.
Online gambling is difficult to eradicate even though it harms small communities because ministries and agencies work independently. To address this, the government plans to combat online gambling in a more holistic manner. A task force across agencies is planned to be formed (Kompas.id, 19/4/2024).
Actually, in various parts of the world, gambling is legalized and can be accessed openly by the public. In some countries, gambling is localized, such as Las Vegas in the United States, the Venetian complex in Macau, China, and Genting Highland in Malaysia.
One important and main note: only certain residents can access the localized conventional gambling. One of them is a financial power in a certain amount. It’s as if for those whose money is not sparkling, they lose tens or even hundreds of millions of rupiah on gambling tables as if it’s just a game.
A motorbike taxi driver opens a slot gambling site from a cellphone around the flyover in Pancoran, South Jakarta, Monday (20/11/2023).
Also read: Online Gambling Money Turnover Reaches IDR 327 Trillion
What about online gambling? Along with the expansion of the digital era, this model of gambling has also spread in various parts of the world. Online gambling sites are blooming like mushrooms in the rainy season. Along with the legalization of gambling in several countries, online gambling sites have even become sponsors of sports clubs.
The regulation of online gambling access, as is the case in Indonesia, is often a problem with unclear beginnings and ends. It is not surprising that even less able residents can participate in online gambling due to the low nominal value of access capital required.
The problem becomes even more complex because low-income residents should be using the money they have as capital for work or daily living expenses. The loss of money due to gambling means a lost life. Furthermore, the deeper meaning is that those who are still in their productive age become unproductive because their capital is depleted by gambling.
It is understandable that if one falls into gambling, the age-old formula is certain: “losing out of curiosity, winning becomes addictive.” Essentially, someone who falls into gambling will continue to be addicted to risking their capital for the sake of gambling.
The public is truly waiting for the government’s manifestation of seriousness in dealing with online gambling. Comprehensive and solution-oriented handling will save our society’s productivity from the gambling world that leads them astray.