Posted: May 25, 2026, 02:14h.
Last updated: May 26, 2026, 04:30.
- Prediction market Polymarket is no longer legally accessible in Indonesia
- Indonesian government declares Polymarket an illegal gambling platform
- The ban follows the polymarket offering deals on the president’s political longevity.
Indonesia continues to crack down on illegal gambling by cutting off access to the prediction market Polymarket.
Although gambling is illegal in Indonesia, underground gambling and online websites have offered Indonesians options for many years. However, President Prabowo Subianto’s government enforced the gambling ban more forcefully.
The global rise of prediction markets, online exchanges where users can trade stocks on the likely outcomes of future events, has come under intense scrutiny in Jakarta. The executive branch took action after Polymarket recently began offering deals on when Prabowo would “retire from office.”
On Friday, the Red and White Cabinet’s Ministry of Communications and Digital “officially blocked access” to Polymarket. The bureau did not mention the controversial transactions regarding the president’s future, but instead said the decentralized crypto-based prediction market platform was involved in illegal online gambling.
“Platforms that facilitate money-based bets on specific outcomes or events, including those leveraging blockchain technology or crypto assets, remain classified as online gambling, even if they are packaged as prediction markets,” a Department for Communications and Digital release said.
Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world.
presidential popularity
Prabowo comes from an elite family whose grandfather was the founder of Indonesia’s state-owned bank. Prabowo was also married to former President Suharto’s daughter Titiek Suharto.
Prabowo won the 2024 presidential election with 59% of the vote. Mr Prabowo, initially popular, has come under fire for his plans to centralize state control over coal and palm oil, the country’s most valuable primary exports. Mr Prabowo has also generated opposition for his extravagant spending on populist programs such as free school meals.
Polymarket bet on the president’s staying power as opposition grows in Indonesia. Polymarket traders believe there is only a 1% chance that Prabowo will step down as president by May 31. By June 30th, the odds have only increased to 2%, but by the end of the year traders expect the odds to increase to 11%.
As of this afternoon (May 25), the polymarket contract has a nominal trading volume of only $51,531. Still, the Prabowo government viewed the market as a problem and banned polymarkets.
The government does not provide space for any form of online gambling in Indonesia. Activities such as polymarkets include elements of financial betting and speculation on events with uncertain outcomes. Therefore, they are in violation of the law currently in force in Indonesia,” said ministry spokesperson Alexander Savar.
Regarding other global prediction markets, the Ministry of Communications and Digital said that reviews are ongoing.
Onslaught of online gambling
Indonesia continues to investigate websites that may violate the country’s gambling ban.
Earlier this month, Indonesian National Police arrested 321 foreigners on suspicion of running at least 75 criminal online gambling enterprises. Most of those arrested were Vietnamese.
“The Ministry of Communications and Digital urges the public to refrain from accessing or participating in digital gambling-based activities, including crypto assets. The Ministry will continue to strengthen its oversight of the digital space and work with law enforcement agencies and stakeholders to ensure that the national digital ecosystem remains safe, healthy, and productive for the public,” the release concluded.
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