Online gamblers come from police, civil servant background: Task Force

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs and Chair of the Online Gambling Task Force, Hadi Tjahjanto, pointed out that online gamblers come from various professions, such as police, soldiers, journalists, and civil servants.

“For names under ministries, TNI, and Polri, we have submitted their names to the heads of institutions,” he remarked after attending a coordination meeting on the Prevention of Online Gambling on Tuesday.

In particular, Tjahjanto drew attention to online gamblers who hailed from a journalistic professional background. Based on data from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK), it was known that 168 journalists were involved in online gambling.

He noted that the value of online gambling transactions in that profession reached Rp1 billion (US$59 thousand).

“Based on data from PPATK, the number of transactions reached 6,899, with a value of Rp1,477 billion (US$87 thousand). We already have the list of names,” he revealed.

The minister noted that the task force he leads continues to make various efforts to eradicate online gambling. His side had arrested an internet celebrity from Banten who was promoting online gambling.

“Moreover, we were able to reveal (and dismantle) three online gambling websites called 1EWNXBET, W88, and Liga Ciputra, followed by the arrest of 18 suspects in three disclosures,” Tjahjanto stated.

Of the various efforts made, the task force is focused on saving the public by revealing the names of those involved.

“The important aspect is to save the Indonesian people (from online gambling),” the minister emphasized.

On the same occasion, Minister of Communication and Informatics and Daily Chair of the task force, Budi Arie Setiadi, spoke of having also found some of his employees in the online gambling practice.

“On Thursday, we will announce the number of employees from the Ministry of Communication and Informatics who are caught in the online gambling practice,” he remarked.

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