DIGIVESTASI - The decision of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) to require banks to block accounts related to criminal offenses and online gambling has the support of the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI). In this case, KPAI estimates that more children are exposed to online gambling, both in urban and rural areas.  

In a statement quoted by Mada, Sunday (17/12), KPAI Commissioner Kawiyan said, various layers of society have long asked the government and banking institutions to block accounts used for illegal online gambling activities. 

Kawiyan said, one of the wishes conveyed to KPAI came from the Indonesian Grand Teachers Association (PGSI) of Demak Regency some time ago. PGSI claims thousands of Demak students are involved in online gambling. He is convinced of the accuracy of the data revealed by the OJK regarding the occurrence of 157 million online game transactions involving housewives and students with a transaction value of less than Rp. 100,000. 

Unfortunately, due to the nature of online gambling in the digital sector, relevant agencies such as the Ministry of Information and Communication and OJK cannot directly identify individuals involved in online gambling activities, including children.

"In fact, we believe that many children are exposed to online gambling, not only in urban areas but also in rural areas," he said. Kawiyan explained, this online gambling game has a negative impact on children such as reducing concentration and academic achievement, making children not want to win a lot of money in a short time, and risks encouraging them to participate in crime. and abuse. education costs. 

Therefore, he hopes that the banking world can understand this impact by blocking all accounts related to online gambling. "The banking industry must be careful in protecting children from online gaming activities. "Protecting children from online gaming activities means saving the nation," he said. 

Since the emergence of concerns about online gambling among children, KPAI has conducted in-depth visits to the regions. Although teachers and educators admitted to being concerned about the problem, they still find it difficult to detect who is exposed to online gambling. 

KPAI encourages stakeholders to work together to address this issue to protect the younger generation from the negative impact of online gaming.