France’s Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), or the Nationwide Playing Authority, has ordered web service suppliers to dam entry to Polymarket.
Prediction web sites are thought-about unlawful playing, the ANJ mentioned in a Friday press launch.
The regulator mentioned that Polymarket’s operations usually are not approved in France and that promoting unauthorized playing websites constitutes a felony offense with fines of as much as 100,000 euros ($114,000).
Prediction markets permit customers to purchase and promote contracts tied to the outcomes of future occasions, from elections and sporting occasions to financial knowledge and geopolitical developments. Polymarket has surged in reputation over the previous two years, with billions of {dollars} in buying and selling quantity, whereas drawing scrutiny from regulators over whether or not its occasion contracts represent unlawful playing or unlicensed monetary merchandise.
Nations that blocked entry to Polymarket embrace Singapore, Poland, Portugal, Hungary, Ukraine, Brazil and Indonesia. At press time, Polymarket mentioned it was geoblocked in 36 areas.
France’s playing regulator first shared plans to dam the platform in November 2024 for failing to adjust to nationwide playing legal guidelines.
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French playing authority cites final result manipulation issues
France’s playing authority mentioned Polymarket boasts “addictive options” which can be much like regulated playing choices, however “amplified by the absence of the protecting mechanisms discovered within the authorized playing market.”
It additionally cited potential final result manipulation tied to some occasion contracts on Polymarket, including:
“A number of the bets supplied on this platform seemed to be rigged: for instance, bets on the climate revealed that climate sensors might have been hacked.”
The cybercrime unit of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Workplace launched an investigation into this matter in Could 2026 and located a scarcity of id verification, resembling Know Your Buyer checks.
Prediction markets have additionally drawn scrutiny from US regulators. On June 17, Kentucky sued 5 prediction market platforms, together with Kalshi and Polymarket, accusing them of working unlicensed sports activities betting platforms. At the very least 17 different states have adopted go well with.
The Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee sued eight states, arguing they’d interfered with the federal regulator’s unique authority over federally regulated occasion contracts.
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