Indonesia’s PPATK credits President Prabowo for sharp fall in online gambling flows

PPATK chief Ivan Yustiavandana told lawmakers that tougher enforcement under President Prabowo helped push online gambling transactions down to around Rp268 trillion, after the agency warned the market’s potential scale could have reached Rp1,100 trillion.

Indonesia’s Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) has publicly credited President Prabowo Subianto’s “firmness” for a major reduction in illegal online gambling activity, framing the drop as a milestone achieved through cross-agency coordination.

Speaking during a meeting with the House of Representatives’ Commission III at the parliament complex in Jakarta on 3 February 2026, PPATK head Ivan Yustiavandana said online gambling transactions had been “significantly reduced” after coordinated measures involving multiple institutions, including the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs.

Yustiavandana argued that the rapid growth of financial technology, crypto and other innovations could have pushed the potential value of online gambling transactions to Rp1,100 trillion, but said enforcement efforts had now brought the figure down to Rp268 trillion.

Separately, PPATK figures referenced in industry reporting point to a broader year-on-year decline in 2025: estimated online gambling turnover fell 20% to Rp286.84 trillion from Rp359.81 trillion in 2024, even as activity volumes remained high, with hundreds of millions of transactions recorded.

The political pressure point is what happens next: Commission III member Mangihut Sinaga urged PPATK to strengthen coordination so that data provided to law enforcement translates into visible follow-up and deterrence. With illegal gambling adapting quickly to new payment rails, PPATK’s message is that the crackdown is working—but only if enforcement keeps pace with the technology and the networks behind it.