Polymarket Faces ISP Blockade in France Following Regulator Directive
The French gambling watchdog has directed internet service providers throughout the nation to implement geoblocking measures against Polymarket, pointing to unauthorized gambling activities and concerns over market manipulation.
The National Gambling Authority of France, known locally as Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), has directed internet service providers operating within the country to restrict user access to Polymarket.
According to the ANJ's Friday press release, prediction websites fall under the category of illegal gambling activities.
The regulatory body emphasized that Polymarket lacks proper authorization to operate within French borders and warned that promoting unauthorized gambling platforms is a criminal violation punishable by fines reaching as high as 100,000 euros ($114,000).
Users of prediction markets purchase and sell contracts linked to potential outcomes of forthcoming events, ranging from political elections and athletic competitions to financial indicators and international political developments. Over the last two years, Polymarket has experienced remarkable growth in user engagement, recording billions of dollars in trading activity, though this expansion has attracted regulatory attention regarding whether such event contracts should be classified as prohibited gambling or unregistered financial instruments.
The list of nations that have implemented access restrictions to Polymarket includes Singapore, Poland, Portugal, Hungary, Ukraine, Brazil and Indonesia. According to Polymarket's current data at press time, the platform faces geoblocking restrictions across 36 regions.
The French gambling watchdog initially announced its intention to block the platform in November 2024 due to the platform's failure to adhere to the country's gambling regulations.
French gambling authority cites outcome manipulation concerns
According to France's gambling authority, Polymarket features "addictive features" that mirror those present in regulated gambling services, though these characteristics are "amplified by the absence of the protective mechanisms found in the legal gambling market."
The authority also raised concerns regarding possible outcome manipulation associated with certain event contracts available on Polymarket, stating:
"Some of the bets offered on this platform appeared to be rigged: for example, bets on the weather revealed that weather sensors may have been hacked."
An investigation into this issue was initiated by the cybercrime unit of the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office in May 2026, which uncovered an absence of identity verification procedures, including Know Your Customer checks.
US regulators have similarly turned their attention toward prediction markets. On June 17, the state of Kentucky filed a lawsuit against five prediction market platforms, with Kalshi and Polymarket among the defendants, claiming they were running unlicensed sports betting operations. A minimum of 17 additional states have subsequently filed similar legal actions.
In a separate legal action, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed suit against eight states, contending that these states had encroached upon the federal regulator's exclusive jurisdiction over federally regulated event contracts.