French Internet Service Providers Told to Block Access to Polymarket
The regulator said Polymarket’s continued availability could expose users to gambling losses and manipulated wagers, and visits from French internet addresses reached 578,751 in June.
- On Friday, July 17, 2026, France's National Gambling Authority ordered internet service providers to block access to the Polymarket betting website, citing concerns over potential user losses and market manipulation.
- The ANJ stated the site's continued availability constitutes illegal advertising, noting that despite a November 2024 ban on financial transactions, French user visits reached 578,751 in June.
- Violating advertising laws carries potential fines reaching €100,000, while the regulator cited risks including the April hacking of a Meteo-France weather probe to manipulate betting outcomes.
- Similar restrictions exist across Europe, with countries including Germany, Italy, and Spain also blocking or limiting access to prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket.
- US regulators are drafting new rules for prediction markets amid scandals, including a soldier's alleged $400,000 profit from classified betting and a White House teleprompter operator's suspension.
41 Articles
41 Articles
French Gambling Authority Blocks Polymarket Access
France’s Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), or the National Gambling Authority, has ordered internet service providers to block access to Polymarket. Prediction websites are considered illegal gambling, the ANJ said in a Friday press release. The regulator said that Polymarket’s operations are not authorized in France and that advertising unauthorized gambling sites constitutes a criminal offense with fines of up to 100,000 euros ($114,000). Pre…
France Slams Polymarket: Illegal Gambling
France’s decision to block access to Polymarket is not a quirky move against one crypto start‑up; it is a clear expression of a broader European judgment that real‑money prediction markets are, in legal terms, unlicensed gambling and will be treated as such. Key Points France’s gambling regulator, ANJ, now formally classifies real‑money prediction markets as...
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Shin-young = France has blocked access to the 'prediction betting' site Polymarket, citing the possibility of manipulation.
Although Polymarket operations had been banned for French users since 2024, the authorities also decided to prevent access to the site.
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