Just over a month out from Taiwan’s general election, authorities in the nation have officially blocked access to Kalshi and Coinbase for the general public.
This action comes after a New Taipei court greenlit the Taiwanese National Communications Commission (NCC) to block access to all exchange platforms ruled to have been offering bets (or swaps) on the election.
As such, Coinbase users in Taiwan began reporting access issues, with the company outlining that it is currently investigating the matter. Kalshi, on the other hand, has stated that it does not allow trading in the nation of Taiwan at all.
Naturally, Taiwanese law prohibits gambling-for-profit operations from running markets on elections or election outcomes.
This is not the first time the nation has stepped in over suspected prediction market betting activity related to elections in the nation, as Taiwan prosecutors launched a probe into Polymarket in Q2 for suspected crypto bets linked to local elections in the nation. The Miaoli District Prosecutor's Office stated that a man was identified for placing virtual currency bets on which political party would win the most county and city magistrate seats in the upcoming November election cycle.
Elsewhere in Asia, last week also saw South Korea refer Polymarket to prosecutors as the nation has taken a stance against the prediction market sector – with 20 domestic Polymarket users suspected of illegal gambling via the platform. Speakers at a recent Hong Kong fintech event also argued that additional financial-market regulation is now required for the effective oversight of prediction market platforms on the continent.
In the European market, this month has also seen Norway’s gambling regulator move to block Kalshi and Polymarket from access to citizens.
