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 Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi) says that the internet services provider Cloudflare has agreed to comply with its requests to crack down on online gambling sites.
Earlier this month, Komdigi issued Cloudflare a stark warning, stating that 76% of illegal casino sites that target Indonesians use its services.
The ministry warned Indonesian businesses that they may need to find alternatives to Cloudflare if the company fails to take action.
But Komdigi says it has since held an online meeting with Cloudflare representatives to discuss fulfilling the obligations it has as a foreign private electronic systems provider, CNN Indonesia reported. Cloudflare has yet to sign up to the ministry’s providers registry, Komdigi says, along with over 20 other major overseas firms.
Cloudflare Holds Indonesian Gambling Crackdown Talks
Komdigi’s Director-General of Digital Space Supervision, Alexander Sabar, said the talks had been fruitful. “The meeting demonstrates that we continue to prioritize dialogue in our efforts to ensure compliance,” he said.
The ministry said it spoke to Carly Ramsey, Cloudflare’s Head of Public Policy for the APAC region, as well as Smrithi Ramesh, the firm’s regional government outreach chief.
Alexander said that “two main items were on the agenda,” namely ensuring Cloudflare fulfils its registration obligations and “strengthening cooperation on content moderation.”
The Komdigi official said that Cloudflare “demonstrated a cooperative attitude.” It also reportedly committed to “further examining the registration requirements.”
The parties agreed to create a dedicated reporting channel to help “support the content moderation process.”
Ministry Issues Further Warnings
For its part, Cloudflare reportedly explained the “limitations of its role” as an internet infrastructure provider, noting that it does not directly curate the content on its customers’ websites.
Komdigi said it appreciated the San Francisco-based company’s explanation, but added that the firm’s “administrative obligations remain unchanged.”
Alexander noted that all private web service providing companies, including Cloudflare, are still required to comply with government regulations.
“Compliance with registration obligations is an important part of maintaining digital sovereignty. It helps ensure that all services adhere to the same regulations,” he said.
The government ministry told members of the press that it would “continue to monitor Cloudflare and other overseas service providers’ compliance.”
It warned that it would “take action against any parties who fail to comply with its regulations.”
Casino Crackdown Intensifies
Indonesia embarked on a sweeping crackdown on online casinos in 2023, which has since continued to gather pace.
Jakarta has frozen thousands of citizens’ bank accounts containing millions of USD worth of funds, claiming these accounts have been used to connect to illicit gambling platforms.
It has also halted benefits payments to hundreds of thousands of welfare recipients, claiming that the recipients have used government payouts to fuel their gambling habits.
In addition, government censors have removed or geoblocked access to scores of online gambling platforms.
But many sites have successfully migrated to new domains, with the popularity of betting platforms continuing to grow.
Community leaders say that gambling addiction is on the rise and is sparking an increase in divorce rates.
