Dian Rahma Fika, Jakarta – Indonesian Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises, Maman Abdurrahman, mentioned online gambling as one of the factors weakening people's purchasing power. According to him, based on the findings of the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP), the money flowing into online gambling reaches Rp900 trillion annually.
Maman assessed that people who allocate their money to online gambling will automatically experience a decrease in purchasing power. "Imagine, for example, that person A has just received Rp2 million from his parents. If Rp500,000 or Rp1 million of it is used for online gambling, it's already reduced," said Maman when visited at his house in South Tangerang on Wednesday, April 2, 2025.
Maman claimed that the trend of online gambling users has started to decline since the government has been actively enforcing regulations. Therefore, as the number of online gambling users decreases, he hopes there will be an increase in people's purchasing power.
Before this, the decline in people's purchasing power was reflected in the deflation that occurred in early 2025. In February, the price decline was recorded at an annual rate of 0.1 percent. This is the lowest deflation rate since January 2000, when it was 1.1 percent. According to a survey by Bank Indonesia (BI), the decline in consumer confidence was triggered by the public's perception that job opportunities were difficult to find.
Meanwhile, the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) noted that in the past three years, the money turnover for online gambling in Indonesia has continued to increase. This is evident from the identified reports of suspicious financial transactions.
PPATK Public Relations Coordinator Natsir Kongah said that in 2021, PPATK recorded online gambling revenue of Rp57 trillion, then jumped to Rp81 trillion in 2022, and reached Rp327 trillion in 2023. "Entering the first quarter of 2024, it's already Rp600 trillion," said Natsir during an online discussion entitled "Plunging into Poverty Because of Gambling" on Saturday, June 15, 2024.
– Dede Leni Mardianti and Ade Ridwan contributed to the writing of this article.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1993056/smes-minister-links-online-gambling-to-declining-purchasing-powe