France blocks access to Polymarket website

Odaily reported that the French National Gambling Authority (ANJ) announced on July 17 that it will block access for users within France to the prediction market platform Polymarket, following a prior ban on accepting financial transactions from French accounts on the platform.

The ANJ stated that although France had already restricted financial transactions linked to Polymarket since November 2024, the platform's website remained accessible to French users, with user traffic continuously growing. Therefore, it decided to implement further web-blocking measures.

Data shows that Polymarket allows users to engage in predictive trading on the outcomes of future events, including politics, economics, and sports. Since the platform displays betting odds for different events in real-time, French regulators believe this constitutes promotion of unauthorized gambling websites.

The ANJ noted: "Promoting unauthorized betting or gambling websites in any manner is a criminal offense." The relevant violations could result in a maximum fine of 100,000 euros (approximately 147,000 Singapore dollars).

Regulators indicated that although French accounts are no longer able to conduct related transactions, access from French IP addresses has continued to rise, reaching 578,751 visits in June.

This blockade further highlights the attention European regulators are paying to prediction market platforms. As decentralized prediction markets like Polymarket grow rapidly worldwide, how to define them—whether as financial innovation, information markets, or gambling businesses—is becoming a focal point of regulatory discussions across nations. (Straitstimes)