Protecting Indonesian Youth from Online Gambling

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Jakarta(ANTARA) –
Although the rapid development of digital technology has brought many conveniences to the country’s young people, it also brings some risks. One of them is online gambling, which has recently attracted attention in Indonesia.

While casinos may still ban minors, online gambling on mobile phones has no barriers to entry. In addition to adults, online gambling has become popular among children under 17 who don’t even have ID cards.

A recent report by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) revealed a worrying fact: approximately 80,000 children under the age of 10 and 440,000 pre-teens and adolescents are already gambling online.

Therefore, online gambling is a serious challenge that threatens the future of the country. We urgently need to protect children and prevent them from falling into this trap.

Realizing children’s rights

Just like crime prevention, to stop children from gambling online, their activities must be monitored, starting with their surroundings. This is provided for in the Child Protection Act No. 23 of 2002.

Jasra Putra, deputy chairman of the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), said parents play an important role in protecting children. Children not only need to be protected from violence and bullying, but also need to be protected from becoming addicted to online gambling.

He pointed out that children’s behavior can be traced back to the influence of their parents.

KPAI noted that power relations have emerged as one of the child protection issues over the past three years. Parents have the power to direct their children’s behavior.

“That’s what we call undermining child protection,” he said. “Some parents are gambling.”

Putra said the committee did not know whether their children were encouraged to open gambling bank accounts or invited to hold gambling funds.

In addition to prevention, those closest to children must also fulfil their rights. Children’s rights include the right to a family environment and alternative care, basic health and well-being, education, use of free time, cultural activities and special protection.

If families fail to meet children’s rights, the environment around them may put them at risk for addiction to drugs, gambling, pornography and games.

With the rise of online gambling, KPAI has also become concerned about the potential for child exploitation. This is because unscrupulous adults may exploit children from a financial perspective, such as using their children’s accounts or creating bank accounts with their children’s data.

“So we want enforcement to also apply to issues of economic exploitation,” he said.

To do this, everyone must defend the realization of children’s rights, recognizing that the future of the country lies in the hands of the younger generation.

Gambling addiction

Currently, the country is working hard to realize the vision of “Golden Indonesia 2045”, which is expected to be realized by the 100th anniversary of Indonesia’s independence. The younger generation plays an important role in realizing this vision.

However, according to data, teenagers are the young age group most likely to be exposed to online gambling.

The Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association (APJII) found in 2023 that the youth group (13-18 years old) had the highest Internet penetration rate.

Tarumanagara University psychology lecturer Deborah Basaria said adolescence begins between the ages of 10 and 13 and ends between the ages of 18 and 22. Adolescents tend to exhibit impulsive behaviour, such as acting without considering consequences or planning, and tend to seek new experiences.

Impulsive behavior is normal, but riskier behaviors such as online gambling must be prevented. In addition, there are also cases where teenagers promote online gambling on social media.

The spread of online gambling addiction cannot be ignored as its impact could harm society.

Therefore, all parties must foresee this and prevent children from being involved in criminal cases due to online gambling.

“For example, because they are addicted to online gambling, they resort to stealing to get money,” she said.

She pointed out that according to research, teenagers who are “severely addicted” to gambling get a great pleasure from winning money. Therefore, they have the desire to continue gambling and spend a lot of money to satisfy this desire.

Ultimately, the most important factors in creating a golden generation are family and environment. People must also care about the well-being of their neighbors.

Even when their circumstances are good, families and communities need to foster and reinforce good character in children and young people and educate them about the harmful consequences of behaviors that lead to criminal behavior.

“So, I suggest an approach that is highly integrated with all parties,” the academician said.

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