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 BioThe Indonesian government is preparing to take measures against virtual private network (VPN) operators as part of its ongoing crackdown on online gambling.
On August 18, the Indonesian media outlet Konteks reported that the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs (Kemenko Polkam) plans to implement geoblocking solutions to prevent citizens from accessing illegal online gambling platforms.
These solutions typically involve detecting a user’s location via their IP address and blocking access to blacklisted websites.
Geoblockers match users’ IP addresses with a database of blocked URLs. However, VPN users can bypass these restrictions by manipulating IP address data to make it seem as though they are based in other locations.
Indonesian VPN Regulations are Forthcoming
Nations like North Korea and Belarus have banned VPNs outright, while their use is also heavily restricted in China.
Some countries, such as Russia, have instead sought to criminalize the use of VPNs to access banned online content.
Jakarta seems unsure about the nature of forthcoming VPN restrictions, however. The media outlet reported that the ministry is aware that some residents use these tools “to access prohibited sites” such as gambling platforms.
The ministry issued a public call for “competent” experts to provide it with “advice and ideas” on future VPN restrictions.
The government has previously ordered the Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi) to begin blocking access to online gambling sites.
Komdigi was quickly able to order the nation’s IP providers to block access to some 9,000 illegal gambling-related pages.
But Komdigi’s initial success proved short-lived. Illegal gambling site operators began mirroring and moving their sites to new URLs faster than the ministry could identify them.
The government was then hit with a public scandal when police discovered that employees and intermediaries were operating a protection racket for blacklisted gambling operators.
Syaiful Garyadi, Kemenko Polkam’s Assistant Deputy Head of Data Protection and Electronic Transactions, said that Komdigi workers had become “firefighters who put out fires but cannot extinguish their source.”
Indonesians: Among the World’s Keenest VPN Users
Syaiful added that the government believes the use of VPNs is “widespread.” Jakarta thinks residents “often use VPNs to access illegal content, including online gambling sites and pornography.” At present, the official added, the VPN sector is completely unregulated.
Indonesia has strict anti-pornography laws, with distributors punishable with jail terms of up to 12 years. In recent years, police officials have sought to combine and streamline their anti-pornography and anti-gambling crackdowns.
Syaiful said the government has two targets, namely: creating more effective blocking technology and regulating VPNs.
The media outlet quoted Sinta Dewi Rosadi, a professor in the Faculty of Law at Padjadjaran University, as noting that national studies indicate that 30% of Indonesian VPN users utilize these tools to access banned content.
The remainder mainly use VPNs to access entertainment and social media platforms, Sinta added. The professor said: “Data shows that online gamblers are low earners. Generally, they earn less than Rp 5 million ($309) per month. And it is even possible that children are [using VPNs to access gambling sites]. We must seriously consider how to best protect this group.”
Historically, VPN usage in Indonesia is extremely high. According to 2022 data compiled by Hootsuite, nearly 39% of internet users aged 16-64 in the country use VPNs.
In 2019, Indonesia topped the world VPN usage rankings, surpassing countries with much larger populations, including China and India.
Earlier this month, Puan Maharani, the Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives, lashed out at gamblers and betting operators.
She claimed that online gambling-fueled greed was hindering the country’s social and economic development.
