Indonesia flags another post-Eid spike risk in online gambling deposits

Indonesian authorities are warning of another likely rise in online gambling deposits after Eid, as suspicious transaction reports picked up in early March and officials say the Lebaran period repeatedly creates fresh momentum for illegal betting platforms.

Indonesia is once again facing concern over a post-Eid increase in online gambling activity, with the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center, or PPATK, indicating that suspicious financial activity linked to online gambling had already risen in early March 2026. Local reporting citing PPATK said the pattern is familiar: online gambling deposits often climb after Lebaran, when cash circulation is higher and illegal operators intensify promotions tied to holiday spending.

Public warnings ahead of Eid also pointed in the same direction. On March 19, state broadcaster RRI reported that online gambling sites were becoming more aggressive before the holiday, often using promises of instant profits, large bonuses and even THR-themed promotions to attract users. The same report, citing PPATK data, said children and young adults remain part of the exposed demographic base, underlining how deeply the problem has spread across age groups.

The renewed risk comes despite measurable progress in 2025. PPATK said online gambling deposits in the first quarter of 2025 fell to Rp6.2 trillion, down from Rp15 trillion in the same period a year earlier. Officials also said full-year online gambling fund circulation in 2025 dropped to Rp155.4 trillion from Rp359.8 trillion in 2024, while the number of players declined to 3.1 million from 9.7 million.

Even so, the economic damage remains significant. Reporting in August 2025 citing PPATK data said public deposits into online gambling accounts reached Rp51.3 trillion in 2024, with around 70% of those funds detected flowing overseas. Indonesia’s National Economic Council argued that such leakage weighed on domestic growth and deprived the economy of spending and investment that could have supported GDP.

What makes the current moment important is that the authorities are not presenting the Eid-linked surge as a new phenomenon, but as a recurring seasonal vulnerability. The exact size of the March 2026 post-Eid increase has not yet been publicly quantified in the sources reviewed, but the official and semi-official warnings suggest the government expects illegal platforms to exploit the holiday cash cycle once again. If that pattern continues, Indonesia’s anti-gambling campaign may soon face another stress test despite last year’s progress.