Illegal online gambling poses a threat to Indonesia’s economic and social stability. So said Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in a speech at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit on Saturday.

“Online gambling is a very serious issue,” Prabowo said, addressing world leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung. “We calculate that we lose around $8 billion (IDR133 trillion) every year solely due to outflows from online gambling.”

Prabowo urged member states to join forces against illegal online gambling and work together to fight transnational crimes, “from illegal smuggling and corruption to narcotics”.

This year’s APEC in Gyeongju, South Korea drew leaders from 21 countries, including the United States. The theme: “Building a Sustainable Tomorrow”.

Online gambling more than a financial risk

According to the Jakarta Globe, Prabowo said online gambling poses more than a financial threat and can also undermine social stability. He called for “global solidarity” to boost digital security and prevent cybercrime and data theft.

“That is why we want to participate in advancing APEC’s capabilities in technology,” he said. “We also aim to strengthen SMEs and improve healthcare systems to anticipate our demographic bonus.”

Indonesia has stepped up efforts to curb online gambling, which is illegal in the country. In August, the Financial Services Authority (OJK) ordered banks to block almost 26,000 accounts linked to the activity. The OJK also ordered banks to conduct more due diligence to check potential bad actors against Indonesia’s national ID database.

In remarks Tuesday, Indonesia Minister for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Affairs Yusril Ihza Mahendra said “the prevention and eradication of online gambling is still not optimal”. He made the comments at a Jakarta event, “Strengthening the Anti-Money Laundering Committee in Preventing and Combatting Money Laundering Related to Online Gambling”.

Yusril urged lawmakers to tackle the problem where it originates: not in users and platforms but in financial institutions. “Through this approach, the government can track, freeze and seize the proceeds of crime used to finance and expand online gambling operations,” the minister said.

As reported by Antara News, he also urged clergy to play a part in educating the public. “For the last five years, I have never heard any sermon about online gambling. The preachers always speak about hell but forget to speak about real issues faced by our people,” he said.

Lancet: 72M global punters experience harm

According to a study by the Lancet Public Health Commission on Gambling, digital platforms “offer unparalleled capacities for gambling”.

“We’re not talking about people playing a game with cards around the table anymore,” Louisa Degenhardt, a professor at the University of New South Wales, told CNBC. “Many people might be really experiencing harms from gambling — we think that it’s probably around 72 million people globally.

“That number is likely to increase, as we are seeing the increase in commercial organisations targeting people to gamble more.”

A 2024 UN report called Southeast Asia a hotbed of cybercrime, illegal online gambling and “scam farms”.

“The sheer scale of proceeds” from the illicit economy reflects the growing “professionalisation and innovation” of the illicit enterprises, the report stated. “Transnational criminal groups in Southeast Asia have emerged as global market leaders.”