Tim Alper iGaming Journalist
Tim Alper is a journalist covering betting news and regulation for CasinoBeats, with a focus on regulatory developments and international markets. He reports on breaking stories across Europe and Asia, including gambling law changes and...
Read Full BioThe Indonesian gambling crackdown continues to intensify, with the country’s top anti-money laundering agency blocking thousands of residents’ bank accounts.
The Financial Services Authority (OJK) says that, to date, it has blocked 32,144 accounts suspected of being linked to online gambling activities, the Indonesian media outlet Warta Ekonomi reported.
That marks a rise of almost 5,000 since October 2025. Last year, the AML agency said it had also seized over $36 million from bank accounts it claimed made deposits on online betting sites.
Financial regulators said they have coordinated their blocking orders with commercial banks. Both the OJK and the digital affairs ministry have told banks to monitor their customers’ accounts for signs of online gambling activities.
The OJK says it verifies all flagged gambling-related transactions by checking them against government-issued National Identification Numbers. The agency claims this step helps ensure its blocks do not target the wrong people.
The agency says banks are also using an enhanced due diligence platform “to ensure compliance with know-your-customer protocols and prevent financial system abuses.”
“We have taken these measures in response to the widespread impact online gambling is having on the economy and the stability of the financial sector,” said an OJK spokesperson. “We are also acting to help strengthen consumer protection. This effort is part of our market conduct oversight and our regulation of the financial services sector.”
Bali Police Arrest 39 in Online Casino Exchange Raid
Indonesia’s crackdown on online casinos continues to intensify. Police in Bali said on February 10 that they had arrested over 30 Indian nationals suspected of running an exchange for online casinos.
Bali Regional Police’s Cyber Directorate said it had uncovered an “international online gambling operation” based in the Badung and Tabanan Regencies after investigating an Instagram account holder who “actively promoted online gambling services” to Balinese internet users.
Officers said they launched an “in-depth digital forensic probe” that helped them trace promotional posts to two villas that the gang used as an operations base.
Police said they detained 39 people, all foreign nationals from India, during their raids. Officers are treating 35 of these people as suspects. It has handed the other four cases to immigration authorities for further investigation.
Indonesian Gambling Crackdown: Officers Issue Appeal
Officers said the suspects entered Indonesia on tourist visas. In Bali, they reportedly launched a deposit and withdrawal system for gambling platforms.
Police think the group also helped run online gambling services. Detectives said they “seized dozens of electronic devices as evidence.”
They think the illicit exchange’s monthly revenues were around IRP 8 billion (almost $500). Bali police officials warned the public to “avoid all forms of online gambling.”
“Besides being illegal, this activity is extremely detrimental to the economy,” a spokesperson said.
Officials repeated a call for the public to “actively report any illegal gambling activity in their neighborhoods” to help them “maintain public order and security.”
Last year, courts in Bali jailed several teenage female Instagram influencers who took money to promote online casino apps on their social media pages.
