Indonesia’s Joint Meta Team Seen as Key Step in Online Gambling Crackdown

Indonesia’s new joint team between the Communication and Digital Ministry and Meta is being viewed as an important step in the effort to curb online gambling content. A cybersecurity expert said the move could improve cross-sector coordination, although blocking websites alone will not solve the problem.

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Coordination Beyond Site Blocking

Alfons Tanujaya, a cybersecurity expert and deputy chairperson of the Association of National ICT Entrepreneurs, said the government should strengthen coordination between the ministry, the Financial Services Authority, the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center, and the police to identify and resolve the online gambling issue. He said the problem needs to be handled across several agencies rather than through isolated action.

He also said blocking online gambling websites only partially addresses the issue, since those behind the sites are motivated by financial gain and will continue creating new platforms. He added that demand for such illegal websites remains among internet users in Indonesia, which allows the activity to keep resurfacing.

Tanujaya said the joint team set up by the ministry and Meta is a step in the right direction because it gives the government a platform to coordinate with social media operators in dealing with online gambling content. The arrangement is expected to help authorities respond more directly to the way gambling promotions are spread online.

Social Media Data And Promotions

The expert noted that digital platforms hold the relevant data and have access to it. He said the IP addresses of users posting comments are recorded by the platforms, referring to the recent tactic of flooding social media comment sections with online gambling promotions.

That point was raised as online gambling content continues to appear in comment sections, where operators have increasingly used spam-style posts to reach users. Tanujaya said the ministry should also work with other government agencies to shut down funding channels and trace the networks behind online gambling syndicates.

He said the broader effort should not stop at content removal, but should also address the financial and organisational structure supporting the illegal activity. In his view, that is what would make enforcement more effective over time.

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Ministry Moves On Comment Spam

Communication and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid announced on Tuesday, 30/6, that a joint team had been formed to combat online gambling-related content that spreads mainly through social media comments. The ministry said the approach is designed to deal with the surge in spam comments promoting gambling.

Hafid also said the method used to tackle online gambling-related spam comments could be expanded to platforms beyond Meta, which operates Instagram and Facebook. That suggests the ministry is considering a wider application of the same strategy if the current effort proves useful.

This move is made after the ministry reported a sharp 128% increase in gambling-related comments on the Internet within the past 2 weeks against the January to June 2026 period. The increase reflects the ongoing difficulty that the administration faces in its bid to restrict gambling promotions online.

Role For Stakeholders

Tanujaya said he is optimistic that the joint team formed by Komdigi and Meta will help stakeholders define their roles and functions in the wider goal of eradicating online gambling. His remarks point to the need for a more organised response involving both government and platform operators.

The new team is therefore being framed as more than a technical measure. It is intended to support coordination, speed up responses to harmful content, and improve the ability of authorities to deal with illegal gambling activity across digital platforms.

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Source: Antara