The President of the French National Gambling Authority (ANJ) has ordered local internet service providers to block access to the Polymarket website. The move follows the regulator’s assessment that Polymarket’s offering constitutes illegal gambling, while the platform continues to attract significant user traffic.
Since November 2024, the ANJ has been monitoring the services provided by the operator.
Following an initial formal notice from the regulator, Polymarket implemented geoblocking measures to prevent financial transactions related to its offerings from originating in France. However, these restrictions were subsequently bypassed by users in practice.
Regulator raises concerns over market integrity and lack of KYC checks
The regulator further noted that some bets offered on the platform appeared to have been manipulated. For example, weather-related bets raised concerns that weather sensors may have been compromised.
Indeed, there was an incident back in April where French authorities launched an investigation after an individual won $34,000 on a weather-related bet amid allegations that a temperature sensor at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport may have been tampered with.
The ANJ now said the case highlighted the absence of a Know Your Customer (KYC) user identification system on Polymarket’s platforms available to French and European users, which it said was necessary to verify users’ identities and maintain market integrity.
Over the past two years, the number of visitors to Polymarket from France has steadily increased, with 578,751 visits and 205,057 unique visitors recorded in June alone.
Ireland launches legal action against unnamed prediction market operator
Meanwhile, in a separate development, RTÉ Ireland reported that the Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRAI) has begun High Court proceedings against a major prediction market operator that continued operating in Ireland despite regulatory intervention. The regulator has not named the company involved.
According to GRAI chief executive Anne Marie Caulfield, most prediction market platforms have complied with warning letters issued by the regulator and have either withdrawn from Ireland or blocked access for Irish users. However, one major operator has refused to do so, leading to legal action.
The GRAI does not currently have the authority to instruct internet service providers to block unlicensed operators. However, it is working with Coimisiún na Meán to obtain ‘trusted flagger status’, which would allow it to request the removal of websites suspected of breaching regulations.
Across Europe, several countries have already restricted or blocked prediction markets, including Germany, Belgium, Romania, Switzerland, Poland, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Ukraine and the Czech Republic.
*Story updated - Polymarket intends to challenge the ANJ’s decision to block its website in the country, the prediction market platform said in a statement.
Gibraltar’s Minister for Justice, Trade and Industry, Nigel Feetham, recently announced that the jurisdiction had formally introduced a new regulatory framework for prediction market
