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Indonesia flags 1.49 million social aid recipients for suspected online gambling
The Indonesian Ministry of Social Affairs (Kemensos) has identified approximately 1.49 million social assistance (bansos) recipients with suspected online gambling transactions. Data matching with the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) revealed that over 1 million of these flagged individuals are children. In 2025, the total value of suspected gambling transactions linked to recipients and their families reached Rp2.68 billion, with an average transaction of Rp1.9 million per person.
Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf stated that the government will not tolerate the misuse of social aid and will suspend assistance to those found guilty of using funds for gambling. In Bengkulu City, 4,322 data entries were flagged, with 82.1 percent belonging to the lowest socio-economic groups (Desil 1 and 2).
To improve efficiency, the government has digitalized the social protection system. Muhammad Qodari, Head of the Government Communication Agency (Bakom RI), noted that digital verification has reduced the processing time for social assistance data from 200 days to just five minutes. Additionally, citizens can now use the 'Cek Bansos' mobile application to request updates to their socio-economic status (desil) to ensure aid reaches the correct recipients.
Entities
Bengkulu · Ministry of Social Affairs · Muhammad Qodari · PPATK · Saifullah Yusuf
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Online gambling transactions linked to social assistance recipients and their families reached Rp2.68 billion in 2025. economy.okezone.com
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Over 1 million of the suspected data points involve children. news.okezone.com
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Digitalization of the social protection system has reduced social assistance verification time from 200 days to five minutes. www.cnbcindonesia.com
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The Ministry of Social Affairs identified 1,494,652 social assistance recipients with suspected online gambling transactions. news.okezone.com
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Social assistance distribution will be suspended if investigations prove funds are used for online gambling. news.okezone.com
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The average detected online gambling transaction value is Rp1.9 million per person. economy.okezone.com
- [○ 1 SOURCE] 82.1 percent of the flagged data in Bengkulu City belong to the lowest socio-economic groups (Desil 1 and 2). bengkulu.tribunnews.com
- [○ 1 SOURCE] In Bengkulu City, 4,322 data entries were flagged for suspected online gambling transactions. bengkulu.tribunnews.com