The Indonesian Communication and Information Ministry is set to evaluate the effectiveness of Instruction No. 1 of 2023, which concerns online gambling, an illegal practice in the country. The evaluation comes after seven days of the instruction’s implementation, with Minister Budi Arie Setiadi emphasizing the importance of the government’s efforts to combat online gambling.
While specific details about the achievements made during this period were not disclosed, Minister Setiadi highlighted the significance of the measures taken by the ministry in its fight against online gambling. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to addressing this issue due to the potential “direct adverse impacts” on society.
Minister Setiadi issued the instruction on September 14, 2023, as a follow-up to related laws aimed at preventing and eradicating digital content related to gambling. These also call for sanctions for those found participating in or promoting gambling.
The instruction includes several directives, with one specifically addressing the ministry’s director general of information applications, Semuel A. Pangerapan. Among the instructions, Pangerapan was tasked with taking proactive measures to remove online gambling-related content from all digital platforms, including social media, within seven days of the instruction’s issuance.
Additionally, he was instructed to conduct regular evaluations and supervision of digital platforms to prevent the reappearance of promotional content related to online gambling.