Pixelated Earnings: Terrorist Financing By way of In-Sport Economies in Indonesia – World Community on Extremism and Know-how

Indonesia’s huge gaming market, led by Cellular Legends, Free Fireplace, and PUBG Cellular, generates billions and capabilities as a digital economic system the place belongings and accounts maintain actual worth. Students within the P/CVE area have recognized this wide-reaching world area as one ripe for exploitation by violent extremist actors to take advantage of funding gaps. Particularly, digital currencies, transfers, and resale markets could allow cash laundering and terrorist financing. This Perception explores how Indonesian, Asian, and world authorities, along with tech companies, can handle this hole by strengthening programs and stopping potential exploitation.
In-Sport Cash and Indonesia’s Increasing Gaming Scene
Indonesia’s gaming market reached $3.11 billion in 2023, pushed by a younger inhabitants, rising smartphone use, and a choice for cell gaming. By 2026, Indonesian video game revenue is projected at $1.43 billion, with the broader Southeast Asia market hitting an enormous $6.88 billion.
In-app purchases and gaming currencies for skins (digital items that alter a participant’s character, weapon, or different in-game components with out impacting gameplay), battle passes, and digital items are rising. Cellular gaming dominates the gaming market in Indonesia, producing essentially the most income, with 100+ million Indonesian gamers and 70% smartphone penetration. Higher home digital infrastructure, reasonably priced smartphones, and wider acceptance of digital funds drive development. Indonesia’s sturdy digital fee market additionally helps this development. Spending grows by way of localised hits like Cellular Legends, Free Fireplace, and PUBG Cellular, alongside freemium fashions pushing microtransactions. Gen-Z and Millennials drive adoption and spending. Esports further fuel growth, boosting in-game foreign money use tied to competitors and digital occasions.
In-game foreign money is digital cash utilized in on-line video games to purchase objects, upgrades, and options that improve gameplay. In Indonesia, games like Mobile Legends, Free Fire, and PUBG Mobile use such currencies, bought with actual cash, to unlock skins, weapons, battle passes, and different objects. These currencies are central to freemium games, the place the bottom sport is free however customisation and development require fee.
In-game currencies differ by identify and sort, however all function the medium for transactions inside video games. Gamers purchase them with Indonesian rupiah (IDR), linking real-world cash to the digital world. Gaming corporations localise for Indonesia by pricing in rupiah and supporting local wallets and banking systems.
In-game currency is saved as a variable tied to the participant, and stability updates happen by way of arithmetic operations when incomes or spending. System checks funds earlier than transactions, saves balances regionally or on servers, and deducts costs when granting objects. Triggers (predefined circumstances or occasions that immediate particular actions inside the sport) that then award in-game foreign money for gameplay, whereas cloud sync secures information and manages multi-device use. Actual-money purchases convert to digital foreign money by way of change charges, with accounting controls and security measures stopping duplication or unauthorised modifications.
In-game economies revolve round incomes and spending digital foreign money. Gamers acquire mushy foreign money by way of common gameplay for routine purchases, and onerous (premium) foreign money by spending actual cash for unique objects or quicker development. Costs for objects, upgrades, and providers are set by every sport, which should stability earnings and spending to keep away from inflation or deflation. Currency sinks like upgrades, restore charges, or limited-time provides assist maintain stability. Economies drive engagement by rewarding gameplay and inspiring spending with unique or time-limited objects. Some video games embody player-driven markets the place customers commerce belongings, affecting provide and demand. Actual cash is transformed into premium foreign money by way of localised fee strategies (comparable to digital wallets or financial institution transfers in Indonesia). Premium foreign money is then spent on cosmetics (visible objects like skins or outfits that change look however don’t have an effect on gameplay), power-ups, or further options, with bundles and reductions supplied to extend income.
In-game currencies typically have confusing exchange rates and bundled pricing that trigger gamers to overspend, particularly youthful customers or these with saved fee particulars. Alongside this, scams, phishing, and account theft are increasing, with stolen objects and foreign money resold for actual cash. Gamers often have little recourse from sport corporations, creating vital threat.
Terrorist Monetary Exploitation of On-line Gaming 
On-line video games like Cellular Legends, Free Fireplace, and PUBG Cellular enable buying and selling of in-game currencies and objects that may be offered for actual cash. Jihadists exploit these programs to launder funds throughout borders, typically beginning with stolen bank cards to purchase digital belongings. Microtransactions present quick, nameless transfers, making a clear layer that hides illicit sources and helps “low-cost” terrorism. As one example reveals, the Islamic State stays a excessive risk on this area, utilizing social media and gaming platforms for propaganda, radicalisation, and fundraising, whereas primarily shifting cash by way of unregistered money networks and cell providers.
Jihadist teams launder money through gaming by shopping for in-game foreign money or objects with stolen funds, shifting them throughout a number of accounts and platforms to obscure origins, then reselling them on third-party markets or official exchanges. They inflate balances, create pretend commerce histories, and construct complicated transaction webs to cover trails. Finally, the belongings are transformed again to fiat foreign money, showing as professional earnings. For instance, Linden {Dollars} in Second Life will be exchanged for USD. For context, Second Life, developed by Linden Lab in San Francisco, is a multiplayer virtual world the place customers create avatars, work together, and form an expansive 3D setting, mixing social networking, inventive constructing, and simulation, not like typical MMORPGs.
Second Life (SL) makes use of the Linden Dollar (L$), obtained by way of in-world purchases or SL’s Linden Trade with fiat foreign money. Customers should buy and promote digital items, tip, and entry providers. Every SL account holds balances in L$ and USD, and the previous will be transformed to the latter by way of the Linden Trade. In 2021, SL reported 200k every day customers throughout 200 international locations and a GDP equal of $600M—bigger than some nations. Such financial flows increase dangers of misuse by illicit teams. But, SL is just one platform, not the biggest globally or in Asia/Indonesia. 
Extremist teams have used a number of strategies of laundering cash by way of video video games. In Oct 2019, a Vice report revealed that loot packing containers (digital sport objects containing randomised rewards) in CS:GO had been exploited: gamers bought keys with actual cash, traded packing containers and objects on the Steam Market, and 90% of such transactions had been linked to laundering. Valve shut down the marketplace.
Carding was another method. In January 2019, cybersecurity agency Sixgill discovered criminals used Fortnite by topping up accounts with stolen bank cards, shopping for skins/weapons, then reselling them on third-party markets or the darkish net. In Oct 2019, RUSI reported criminals utilizing stolen playing cards to create Apple IDs, buy in-game objects in titles like Conflict of Clans and Marvel Contest of Champions, and resell for fiat.
Lastly, criminals have laundered funds via convertible in-game currencies. By creating a number of pretend accounts, biking belongings amongst them, and later cashing out by way of banks and ATMs, they obscured the cash path, making tracing extraordinarily tough.
These circumstances present how illicit teams exploit the digital realm, particularly in-game currencies and economies. Terrorist groups additionally use on-line gaming for recruitment, propaganda, fundraising by way of streaming, and cash laundering by way of digital economies. This creates ongoing dangers of financing terrorism by way of in-game foreign money exchanges.
Indonesian and Asian Evaluation
Indonesia faces high risks of terrorist financing (CTF) and cash laundering. It is because the regulation of digital and in-game currencies in Indonesia stays weak, leaving these sectors flippantly monitored by authorities. The anonymity and ease of transferring in-game currencies create vital alternatives for funnelling illicit funds. The fast-growing digital and gaming economic system, projected to reach USD 6.3 billion by 2033, allows thousands and thousands of transactions by way of retail top-ups (Indomaret, Alfamart) and digital channels (e-money, cell banking), with these transactions largely revolving round gaming, as thousands and thousands of Indonesians use in-game foreign money every day. Many platforms lack (Know Your Buyer) KYC and real-time checks, leaving room for abuse by criminals and terrorist teams. Regulation enforcement struggles to hint flows as a result of poor coordination and forms. Increasing digital wallets and fee programs typically lack AML/CTF integration, rising dangers in changing actual cash to in-game currencies.
Terrorist financing by way of digital platforms is just not restricted to Indonesia however impacts the broader Asian area. Southeast Asian teams use cryptocurrencies and on-line fee programs for fundraising, with potential spillover into gaming ecosystems as a result of anonymity. UNODC and regional legislation enforcement warn that digital belongings could also be more and more exploited in ASEAN. In Central Asia, teams have used digital wallets and cryptocurrencies (for instance, Bitcoin and Tether) for funding, typically by way of encrypted communications, with cash despatched overseas to Syria and Afghanistan. South Korea has arrested people transferring terrorist funds by way of cryptocurrencies. Whereas most circumstances contain crypto moderately than in-game currencies, the identical dangers apply given fungibility and anonymity. Many Asian states lack harmonised AML (Anti-Cash Laundering) frameworks for digital belongings, leaving gaps that would lengthen to gaming platforms and create vital vulnerabilities for covert terrorist financing.
Indonesia’s gaming neighborhood engages globally by way of apps like Cellular Legends, Free Fireplace, and PUBG Cellular, with digital currencies transferable throughout borders (for instance, from Bandung to Karachi). This cross-border motion creates jurisdictional challenges for Indonesian legislation enforcement, as terrorists could exploit the anonymity of gaming transactions to maneuver funds undetected. Illicit funds will be transformed into digital foreign money, transferred between accounts, and evade monitoring. Despite efforts by Indonesia’s monetary sector, many gaming platforms and digital items markets stay flippantly regulated, with weak KYC and monitoring, permitting potential terrorism financing. Misuse of in-game currencies can fund recruitment, propaganda, or operations domestically or overseas, threatening nationwide safety and monetary system integrity. Regulators like OJK (Indonesian Monetary Companies Authority) and PPATK (Indonesia’s Monetary Intelligence Unit (FIU) are enhancing AML and counter-terrorism financing measures, however enforcement is tough because of the fast-evolving digital gaming economic system and the necessity for strong surveillance and worldwide cooperation.
With over 100 million registered gamers, Southeast Asia’s gaming market generates huge every day in-game transactions in currencies, skins, and digital items, creating high-volume monetary flows that may be exploited to maneuver illicit funds covertly. Speedy market development, elevated in-game spending, widespread cell gaming and digital funds, a number of platforms and localised variations, and social/esports options amplify these dangers. Terrorist teams can use cross-border digital currencies to funnel sources into malicious actions, posing vital challenges to Indonesian and worldwide legislation enforcement and rising the specter of terrorist financing.
Plugging the Hole: How Indonesia Can Cease Sport-Based mostly Terror Funds
Indonesia is addressing terrorism financing dangers in digital belongings by way of stricter monetary oversight. The OJK is tightening AML and CTF guidelines, specializing in KYC and transaction monitoring for digital currencies, together with in-game belongings. Latest developments concern a brand new legislation handed in Indonesia regulating the gaming trade in 2024, known as the Presidential Regulation Regulation No. 19 of 2024, which outlines a roadmap for the expansion of the gaming trade whereas mandating safeguards towards illicit actions inside the sector. New 2024–2025 insurance policies require gaming platforms and digital asset flows to adjust to monetary intelligence requirements. Collaboration with Monetary Intelligence Models (FIUs), the Monetary Motion Job Pressure (FATF), and regional companions strengthens cross-border investigations, whereas legislation enforcement works with gaming corporations and fee suppliers to detect and block suspicious transactions.
Worldwide authorities advocate AML/CTF compliance for digital belongings, together with convertible in-game currencies (FATF), and client safety and transparency requirements (EU and others), which Indonesia considers in its laws. Cross-border info sharing allows coordinated motion towards digital monetary crimes in gaming, monitored by our bodies like Interpol and Egmont Group, together with rising dangers in esports and digital asset platforms.
Gaming corporations can cut back the chance of in-game currencies getting used for terrorist financing by implementing AML/CTF compliance aligned with FATF requirements. Key measures embody: strong KYC verification and buyer due diligence, monitoring transactions for suspicious patterns or giant cross-account transfers, utilizing AI and analytics to detect uncommon exercise, reporting to monetary intelligence authorities, limiting foreign money conversion/withdrawal with out verification, cooperating with regulators and legislation enforcement, taking part in trade boards, using safeguards towards fraud and account abuse, limiting a number of accounts, coaching workers on AML/CTF dangers, and educating gamers on secure practices. For instance, Second Life registers its digital foreign money suppliers as cash service companies below AML laws.
These measures are essential as a result of stronger oversight of in-game currencies and economies is crucial to stop illicit actions, significantly terrorist financing, and to reinforce Indonesia’s capability to uncover hidden networks and disrupt such funding.
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Mochammad Jose Akmal is a latest graduate with a Bachelor’s diploma in Authorities Science from Universitas Diponegoro, with a robust basis in political evaluation, journalism, and worldwide affairs. He has gained expertise with outstanding establishments, together with the European Union Delegation in Indonesia and Kontan Indonesia (funding and financial information), and has contributed to world publications comparable to Worldwide Coverage Digest. Jose focuses on strategic communication, overseas coverage, and public diplomacy, bridging coverage analysis with real-world impression.
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