Kaspersky Reports Surge in Social Media Promotion of Illegal Online Gambling in Indonesia

Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky has identified a major shift in the way illegal online gambling is promoted in Indonesia. Country Manager Defi Nofitra said promoters are moving away from static websites and banner ads toward fake social‑media accounts, bots and automated systems that post spam comments, use high‑interaction profiles, private messages, temporary links and URL shorteners.

The use of bots allows thousands of comments to be published quickly, creates new accounts after old ones are blocked, and changes keywords and language to evade detection. Kaspersky notes that the activity has become an organized operation rather than isolated incidents. Data from the Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Digital show that more than 1.3 million gambling‑related pieces of content were blocked between October 2024 and May 2025. Defi urged stronger collaboration among digital platforms, government agencies, cybersecurity firms, financial institutions and the public to disrupt the broader ecosystem.

"We see a clear shift from static websites and banner ads toward highly adaptive and automated distribution," Nofitra said. "Rather than fully replacing humans, bots and automation amplify the scale and speed of these campaigns."