Jakarta (ANTARA) - Educating people about the dangers of online gambling is essential to preventing gambling addiction, according to Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs Meutya Hafid.
“One of the sources of the problem is addiction. This is what we are seeking to address through education,” she said after a meeting with Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment Muhaimin Iskandar in Jakarta on Thursday.
Hafid said that the government is committed to promoting digital literacy down to the village level, particularly to educate people about how gambling is a scam. This message is important because the victims of online gambling are individuals who lead real lives in the real world and are greatly affected by fraud in the online gambling network, she added.
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Hafid noted that the Coordinating Ministry for Community Empowerment's personnel, who are spread across villages, will help intensify efforts to educate and improve community literacy about online gambling risks.
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According to government monitoring by the online gambling desk, 8.8 million people have been found engaging in online gambling, many of whom end up poor. Of the number, 1.9 million were private employees, followed by 960,000 students.
Additionally, at least 80,000 children aged under 10 and 96,000 officers of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) and the National Police (Polri) were found engaging in online gambling.
Minister pushes education to combat online gambling risks
Ilustrasi judi. (Pixabay)
Ilustrasi judi. (Pixabay)