Asian Regulators Strengthen Oversight of iGaming Payment Channels
The cumulative impact of these regulatory measures is reshaping how licensed operators and payment providers approach financial infrastructure.
Regulators across Asia are tightening their oversight of payment channels linked to unlicensed online gambling, with enforcement activity in India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore driving significant changes in how fintech firms and payment service providers operate.
The cumulative impact of these regulatory measures is reshaping how licensed operators and payment providers approach financial infrastructure. Speaking to SiGMA, Ariyo Aboumahboub, Executive Director of Infinite Pecunia Solutions, highlighted the shift.
“Regulatory pressure has definitely increased in markets like Southeast Asia and India, so banks, PSPs and e-wallets have become much more cautious about how payment flows are handled, especially for high-volume industries like iGaming,” he said.
Supervisory activity across the region has intensified significantly over the past two years. In Indonesia, the country’s financial services regulator, Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK), ordered banks to block more than 30,000 accounts suspected of being linked to online gambling between September 2023 and December 2025. The regulator later confirmed the figure at 31,382 accounts.
The initiative was coordinated with Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs and forms part of a broader multi-year regulatory effort rather than a single enforcement action.
Data from Indonesia’s Financial Intelligence Unit, Pusat Pelaporan dan Analisis Transaksi Keuangan (PPATK), highlights the impact of the crackdown. Online gambling turnover reached IDR 155 trillion (approximately $9.15 billion) through the third quarter of 2025, but the figure represents a 57% year-on-year decline, suggesting that sustained payment-side enforcement is significantly disrupting the financial infrastructure that supports unlicensed gambling activity.
