Indonesia demands Cloudflare cooperation after study shows 76% of illegal gambling sites use its infrastructure

On 19 November 2025, during a press conference in Jakarta, the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Kominfo) called on Cloudflare, Inc. to actively assist in blocking illegal online gambling operations, following findings that 76% of sampled sites relied on the company’s network services.

Director-General Alexander Sabar revealed that a recent sample of 10,000 gambling domains collected between 1–2 November found that the majority used Cloudflare’s content delivery network features—including IP masking and rapid domain transfers—to dodge Indonesia’s blocking mechanisms.

The ministry has placed Cloudflare on notice: it is listed among 25 Electronic System Providers (PSEs) that, to date, have not registered under Ministerial Regulation No. 5/2020 (PSE registration rule). The firm was given 14 working days to comply and register, failing which the government may impose administrative sanctions up to service termination.

The Indonesian action highlights key challenges in regulating online gambling: globally-distributed digital infrastructure providers often enable operators to operate behind layers of anonymity and jurisdictional opacity. By targeting Cloudflare, Jakarta is effectively seeking to extend its digital sovereignty and assert regulatory control over cross-border online gambling activity.

For regulated gambling operators, payment-service providers and affiliates, the implications are clear: platforms relying on global CDNs may face regulatory risks in markets like Indonesia, and infrastructure providers themselves may come under closer scrutiny. This could influence how operators structure hosting, domain registration and content delivery strategies in geographies with stricter enforcement regimes.