Prediction market Polymarket will legally challenge a nationwide website block in France ordered by the country's gambling authority (ANJ). The ANJ classifies the platform as an illegal gambling offering, citing manipulation risks. Polymarket, which blocked French trading in Nov. 2024, argues the move unfairly targets users seeking information and that "prediction markets help source truth." The block is part of a wider global regulatory crackdown on such platforms.
France website block
- ▪Polymarket had already blocked trading for users in France since November 2024
- ▪Despite the trading ban, the ANJ cited 578,751 visits from 205,057 unique French visitors in June, based on Similarweb data
- ▪The ANJ issued the order on July 16, just before the World Cup final
- ▪France's National Gambling Authority (ANJ) ordered internet service providers to block access to Polymarket's website
Polymarket legal challenge
- ▪Polymarket announced it will challenge the ANJ's website block through the French legal system
- ▪The company asserts that "prediction markets help source truth" and most visitors come to learn probabilities of events
- ▪Polymarket stated it was "surprised" by the decision, arguing the block targets users seeking information, not traders
Gambling classification dispute
- ▪The ANJ classified Polymarket as an "illegal gambling and betting offering," citing risks of user losses and market manipulation
- ▪Polymarket counters that it is not a bookmaker, as prices are set by peer-to-peer trading and it does not take positions in markets
- ▪The ANJ's order cited a complaint from France's national weather service about a tampered temperature sensor related to weather-based bets
- ▪The French regulator argues that displaying live odds, even in view-only mode, constitutes advertising an unauthorized gambling service
Global regulatory actions
- ▪Other countries have also ordered ISP-level blocks against Polymarket, including Ukraine in January, Argentina in March, and Spain in May
- ▪In the U.S., Polymarket operates under a structure regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
- ▪In May, Spain temporarily blocked both Polymarket and its rival platform, Kalshi
- ▪The EU's securities watchdog has warned that prediction contracts could fall under the bloc's ban on retail binary options
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