Indonesian Gov’t Warns Cloudflare, Says 76% of Illegal Betting Sites Use Its Services

The Indonesian government has issued a warning to internet security provider Cloudflare, claiming that 76% of illegal betting sites targeting citizens use its services.

According to the Indonesian media outlet Suara Kalbar, Alexander Sabar, the Director-General of the Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi), said Cloudflare must be “more cooperative with government efforts to stem the rise of online gambling sites.”

The Komdigi official stated that his ministry conducted a study of 10,000 online gambling sites between November 1 and November 2.

The ministry’s data shows that “more than 76%” of the sites used Cloudflare’s services. And some of the sites use Cloudflare solutions to “mask their IP addresses and expedite domain transfers to avoid blocking measures,” Alexander said.

Indonesian Cloudflare Warning: Comply or Face Punishment, Says Ministry

Alexander added that Cloudflare and 24 other Electronic System Providers have thus far failed to register with the ministry.

The platform has 14 working days to rectify this, he said. Failure to comply could result in “administrative sanctions” that may culminate in a ban, the official added.

He claimed that content delivery network providers like Cloudflare should not accommodate all the service requests it receives.

This should be especially true in the case of websites that “are blatantly detrimental to Indonesia,” he explained.

“If a service is clearly detrimental, it should be rejected,” Alexander said. “This is part of the moderation and filtering process.”

And the Komdigi executive added that as many bona fide Indonesian websites rely on Cloudflare services, site managers should look to alternatives in the case that the government decides to issue a ban.

Indonesia-based Cloudflare users should “start considering other options,” he warned.

TikTok Also Under Scrutiny

Alexander claimed that the Indonesian government wanted to work with global internet platforms as long as they “demonstrate a commitment to compliance.”

He concluded: “We are open to collaboration. But compliance with regulations is a boundary that must be respected. Keeping the Indonesian digital space clean and safe is a shared responsibility.”

Indonesia’s crackdown on illegal casino websites has set it on a collision course with other major international digital platforms this year.

The government has also butted heads with TikTok. In October, Jakarta suspended the video-sharing platform’s operating licence during a row over livestreamers.

Komdigi claimed TikTok officials only produced “partial data” about TikTok Live broadcasters who reportedly received donations from illegal casino platforms.

The ministry claimed that the livestreamers in question had tried to incite riots during recent periods of civil unrest.