The Indonesian Ministry of Communications and Informatics (Kominfo) has just responded to social media reports regarding a list of names containing several pro players and streamers of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang who are suspected of promoting online gambling in Indonesia. According to their statement, those on the list will be legally investigated immediately based on the evidence.
A few days ago, various whistleblower accounts on social media exposed several MLBB professional players and streamers who were believed to have been promoting online gambling, which is against the law in Indonesia.
The report claimed that they worked with some bookies to promote online gambling by using deceptive donation schemes during their live social media streams. Those named in the list are pros who have played for MPL ID teams, such as Steven “Marsha” Kurniawan, Yesaya “Xinnn” Armando, Ihsan “Luminaire” Besarik, Rivaldi “R7” Fatah, and Maxhill “Antimage” Leonardo.
The Indonesian MLBB community and these whistleblowers subsequently propagated it, demanding punishment for them as well as other online gambling influencers in Indonesia. After a few days, Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, Director-General of Application and Informatics in Kominfo, replied that they had received the report and filed it to Indonesian authorities.
“We received the proof (mobile game streamers who promoted online gambling) and filed a report with the authorities. For the time being, we will ask YouTube to monitor those who involved, as it occurred on their platform,” he stated.
If the authorities corroborate the claim, those on the list might be sentenced to a maximum of four years in prison and a certain fine, as stated in Article 303 of the Indonesian Penal Code. In addition, their mates who have collaborated on the same or similar content may be investigated as well.
At the time of this writing, only Marsha has responded to the report via social media. He stated that he would seek legal counsel to refute the charges in the near future.
