Cloudflare under scrutiny for enabling gambling sites to evade blocks

Alexander Sabar, director general for digital space supervision, revealed research showing that 76% of a sample of 10,000 gambling websites rely on Cloudflare. Many use Cloudflare’s CDN features—such as IP masking and rapid domain switching—to bypass government blocking mechanisms, complicating Indonesia’s enforcement efforts.

Sabar said Cloudflare must take greater responsibility by cooperating more closely with authorities and being more selective about the clients it supports. Approving all service requests indiscriminately, he argued, undermines proper content moderation.

Compliance deadline under Indonesian regulation

The ministry has classified Cloudflare among 25 Electronic System Providers that have yet to register under Ministerial Regulation No. 5/2020. Cloudflare has been given 14 working days to register or face administrative sanctions, including the potential termination of services.

Implications for gambling platforms

Sabar advised websites currently relying on Cloudflare to consider alternative infrastructure providers in case the government moves to block domains linked to Cloudflare. He reiterated Indonesia’s openness to global digital platforms that demonstrate a commitment to regulatory compliance.

Broader context and enforcement challenges

Indonesia is intensifying efforts to combat illegal online gambling using advanced monitoring tools. However, widespread reliance on cloud infrastructure creates significant enforcement challenges, as such services help shield illegal websites from straightforward detection and blocking.

Cloudflare, a U.S.-based provider central to global web performance and security, sits at the intersection of debates over Internet governance, privacy, and national regulatory authority. The situation highlights the structural challenges governments face when attempting to regulate illicit digital activity across borders and underscores the growing need for public-private cooperation in building a safer online ecosystem.

With Cloudflare expected to respond within the ministry’s deadline, the move underscores Indonesia’s determination to crack down on illegal online gambling operations