Spain’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs has launched proceedings against prediction market operators Polymarket and Kalshi, accusing both companies of offering gambling services in Spain without the required licences. The Official State Gazette (BOE) published the opening of disciplinary proceedings.
The Ministry has also ordered the blocking of both platforms’ websites in Spain as a precautionary measure until the proceedings reach a final resolution. According to ministry sources, telecommunications operators have already been notified and the blocks are expected to come into effect within seven to ten days.
The department, headed by Pablo Bustinduy, said the proceedings were officially notified through publication in the BOE after attempts to contact the operators directly at their known overseas addresses were unsuccessful. The sanctioning process is expected to last between three and four months.
Polymarket recently opened a market allowing users to bet on the possibility of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez leaving office before the end of his term.
The rapid growth of prediction markets has drawn increasing regulatory scrutiny worldwide, particularly following several reported cases of insider trading involving platform users.
Following suspicious betting activity on Polymarket, Irish Minister for Finance Simon Harris instructed officials last week to thoroughly examine bets placed on the Dublin Central by-election.
French authorities launched an investigation last month after someone won $34,000 on a Polymarket weather-related bet amid allegations that a temperature sensor at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport had been tampered with.
In Italy, Democratic Party MPs submitted a question in Italy’s Chamber of Deputies over SS Lazio’s multi-year shirt sponsorship agreement with Polymarket, asking ministers to assess whether the deal is compatible with national gambling, advertising and consumer protection rules.
Recently in the US, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha filed a lawsuit against Kalshi and Polymarket in Superior Court, alleging that both operators are “evading” state laws despite adopting the “design and terminology of traditional gambling operations.”
Meanwhile, last month Nevada District Judge Jason Woodbury expanded the preliminary injunction he approved on 6 April, prohibiting Kalshi from offering sports, entertainment and election-related event contracts to residents.
South Korea’s Broadcasting and Communications Deliberation Committee is currently reviewing Polymarket over possible gambling law violations, according to Digital Asset.
This week, Indonesia blocked access to Polymarket, classifying it as an illegal online gambling site amid a broader national crackdown on online betting.
In March, Argentina became the first country in Latin America to block access to Polymarket.
Kalshi has made efforts to prevent insider trading, while Polymarket is more difficult to regulate because it allows anonymous crypto trading
