899 More Indonesians Lose Welfare Benefits as Online Gambling Probe Intensifies

The Indonesian government has halted welfare benefits payments to another 899 people as part of an ongoing crackdown on gambling and online casinos.

According to a release from the Central Java government, officials stated that all the individuals were residents of Temanggung Regency.

The government stated that all individuals have been removed from the list of Direct Cash Assistance recipients. This was “due to indications they used funds or benefits accounts for online gambling activities,” officials said.

Heri Kardono, the head of the Temanggung Regency Social Services Department, said that the individuals had been identified by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), the nation’s anti-money laundering agency.

Welfare Benefits: Gambling Probe Ongoing

The PPATK operates an automated gambling detection platform. When the platform detects gambling-related activity on a citizen’s bank account, agents check this data against a list of Population Identification Numbers.

If it turns out the account belongs to a welfare recipient, the PPATK sends an automated notification to local government offices. These notifications order offices to remove the individual from their list of benefit recipients.

The regency confirms that all 899 individuals will no longer receive payments. The ruling will take effect at the end of the year.

Thus far, the PPATK has disconnected well over 600,000 people from welfare payments. And checks are currently ongoing into further cases.

Heri added that individuals were free to appeal the decisions. But the official added that only the Ministry of Social Affairs has the power to overturn them.

Online Casino Popularity Remains High

The Temanggung Regency also reminded recipients “not to misuse social assistance for negative activities.” Examples of this “negativity” include “online gambling and illegal online loans,” Heri said.

All forms of gambling are illegal in Indonesia, but the popularity of online casinos continues to grow in the country.

Jakarta has responded with a range of punitive measures. These include jailing social media influencers who promote gambling platforms. Regulators have also begun freezing bank accounts that have been used to connect to betting sites.

The Indonesian media outlet Infobank News reported that the country’s top regulator, the Financial Services Authority (OJK), has blocked 30,392 accounts as of December 11.

The OJK has justified its crackdown. It stated that it uses “enhanced due diligence” methods to ensure that it does not freeze the funds of innocent civilians.

The regulator’s top banking executive, Dian Ediana Rae, added that the OJK has also requested that the country’s commercial banks intensify their monitoring efforts.

Banks have also been asked to comply with account-freezing orders.

‘Selebgram’ Star Jailed for 18 Months

The social media crackdown, meanwhile, has seen courts hand out heavy sentences to women in their teens and twenties.

The majority of these women are so-called “selebgram” stars, or Instagram influencers. Earlier this month, the Indonesian media outlet Radar Badung reported that the Singaraja District Court sentenced a 29-year-old Instagram and TikTok star named Putu Vina Aprinita to 18 months in jail.

A panel of judges found her guilty of taking money from an advertiser in exchange for promoting online gambling platforms on Instagram.

The court also fined her over $1,800 and determined that she should serve an additional two months in prison if she fails to pay.

Vina Aprinita has over 270,000 followers on Instagram.

Prosecution officials had requested that the court sentence Vina Aprinita to two years in jail. However, the presiding judge stated that the court had decided to show leniency, as the defendant had no prior convictions and was the mother of young children.

The court also noted that Vina Aprinita had made a full confession, showed remorse, and had “promised not to reoffend.”