Tim Alper is a journalist who covers betting news and regulation for CasinoBeats. He joined the CasinoBeats team in May 2025. He reports on breaking news and developments in the world of betting, casinos, and...
Read Full BioIndonesia’s Social Affairs Ministry believes that 603,999 welfare beneficiaries have placed bets on illegal online gambling platforms.
That number is actually lower than initially suspected. The Indonesian media outlet Kompas reported that, per the Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf, revised data shows that fewer social aid recipients than previously thought have visited illegal casino sites.
Saifullah’s ministry said it had checked results from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) to verify an initial claim that 656,543 households had placed illegal bets.
The ministry said it had checked PPATK results against its own data to remove duplicates and revise the figures downward accordingly.
Welfare Beneficiaries Face Online Gambling Probe
Saifullah said the Ministry will conduct further probes before deciding whether to take further action.
The Minister added that aid had been suspended to 228,048 households in the second quarter of the financial year.
He said that another 375,951 households were still receiving aid ahead of investigations slated for the third quarter of the year.
Claims about illegal gambling and benefits fraud have become increasingly divisive in recent weeks.
Some senior politicians believe that the crackdown is having a negative impact on vulnerable communities. Initially, officials believed some 571,000 welfare beneficiaries had used online betting sites.
Officials responded by pausing benefits pending further investigation. This led Puan Maharani, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to hit out at the policy.
On July 9, the Indonesian media outlet Berita Satu quoted Puan as saying: “Data validation is crucial. It can prevent vulnerable communities, who need protection, from being victimized twice. Their data is misused, and then their benefits payments are stopped.”
The Speaker added that the government should not use PPATK data to stop social assistance without further investigation. She claimed that fraudsters may have stolen the identities of some welfare beneficiaries.
Puan explained: “Criminals have developed various methods to […] misuse identities, including those of welfare recipients.”
Earlier this year, the Ministry announced a sweeping probe of more than 32 million welfare payment recipients. It said that it suspected that fraud was rampant as the popularity of online gambling rises.
Police Conduct Raids on Gambling Site Operators
Also this month, the Indonesian National Police’s Criminal Investigation Unit said it had successfully dismantled an international online gambling network that operated the Akasia899 and Tanjung899 gambling platforms.
Officers said the network also operated branches in China and Cambodia.
Police conducted simultaneous raids in Bogor, Bekasi, Tangerang, and Denpasar, arresting 22 individuals.
A spokesperson said site operators used cryptoasset-powered transactions to launder their profits.
Earlier this year, politicians, religious leaders, and academics exchanged conflicting views on whether Indonesia should create legal casinos to help the country generate new revenue streams.
