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Indonesian authorities are once again seeing online gambling deposits climb sharply after Eid al-Fitr, with officials warning that the pattern has repeated for a second straight year. The alert came from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center, or PPATK, which monitors bank activity for signs of illegal betting and works with major banks to freeze accounts when gambling-related deposits or withdrawals are detected.
According to local reporting cited in the source article, PPATK officials said they recorded a sharp rise in suspicious transactions linked to online gambling during and immediately after the Eid holiday period. This year, the celebration of the event took place between 19th and 20th March, and the agency announced that the figures in late March are already well above those in January and February. The agency has not revealed the actual figures of the increase in this regard, but it announced that the figures will be revealed in April.
Pattern Repeats After Last Year’s Holiday Spike
The latest warning comes in a similar pattern to last year, 2025, when the Eid holiday occurred on March 29 and 30. The article’s data shows that in January 2025, gamblers in Indonesia deposited IDR 2.96 trillion, or $175 million, into illegal gambling sites. This rose to IDR 3.05 trillion, or $180 million, in February, followed by a drop to IDR 2.59 trillion in March.
The pattern changed sharply in April, when deposits jumped 96% to IDR 5.08 trillion, or $300 million, before easing again to IDR 2.29 trillion, or $153 million, in May 2025. That sequence is being used by officials to back up the claim that gambling deposits tend to rise after the holiday period, rather than during the months leading up to it.
PPATK chief Ivan Yustiavandana said online gambling deposits typically rise once the holiday period ends. He added that the sharpest increase usually comes after Eid, when money circulation rises across the country.
More Free Time and More Activity
Experts cited by Tempo pointed to the holiday period itself as a factor behind the increase. With many people having more free time during Eid, gambling activity tends to pick up. That leaves PPATK watching for a familiar post-holiday surge in suspicious transactions, particularly on channels used by illegal gambling operators.
The agency’s automated monitoring system scans bank account activity for indications of online gambling and can work with banks to move quickly when suspicious deposits or withdrawals appear. While the exact figures for this year are still pending, PPATK said the late-March activity stands out clearly against January and February levels.
Wider Crackdown Continues Despite Ban
Online gambling is still considered illegal in the country, but it is still attracting gamblers despite the government’s crackdown on the practice. The government has been working to curb the activity in recent years, including casino apps and online gambling platforms. The pressure on the sector has also produced financial returns for the state, with prosecutors in West Jakarta transferring around $31.3 million to state coffers earlier this month after shutting down an online casino and a linked money-laundering network.
On the other hand, the social impacts of gambling in Indonesia are becoming increasingly difficult to overlook. For instance, medics in the country have warned of the strain being exerted on mental health facilities due to the increasing number of gambling addicts. It has been noted that the number of patients seeking psychiatric care is overwhelming, with some hospitals already running at 90% capacity. Doctors also say the problem is feeding into higher gambling-related crime rates, while civil courts across the country have linked illegal casino addiction to rising divorce cases.
Source: Casino Beats
