Polymarket Blocked French Users Amidst National Regulator Investigation

Key Points

• Polymarket is reportedly no longer accessible to users in France, the US, and other jurisdictions, prohibiting bet placements.
• The prediction market is under scrutiny by France’s national gambling authority after the US elections.

The Polymarket prediction market reportedly became inaccessible to French users today, November 22. The reports come shortly after the website drew attention from France’s national gaming authority after the US elections.

Polymarket Blocks French, US Users

Earlier today, Grégory Raymond, a journalist at The Big Whale, a decentralized news company, shared a post via his X account, saying that Polymarket is no longer accessible from France.

He said that it’s no longer possible to place bets via the website, and he managed to place one thanks to a VPN.

He also shared the message from Polymarket, saying that he seems to be located in the US, France, or another restricted jurisdiction.

The message stated that trading is not available to US persons, people located in the US, France, or people located in restricted jurisdictions.

The notes also stated that the use of measures to circumvent or attempt to circumvent these restrictions is strictly prohibited.

While Raymond highlighted that Polymarket is not available to people in the US, he said that he doesn’t understand the ban in France.

Why is Polymarket Banned in France?

He found out the information from a source close to the National Gaming Authority (ANJ), the country’s gambling regulator.

Raymond also quoted a lawyer and crypto regulator, William O’Rorke, and said that Polymarket is about betting money on something random, which is the definition of gambling, just like a sports bet.

According to his notes, Polymarket does not have a license in France.

Polymarket’s Operations Examined by French Regulator

This came after a pseudonymous trader, identified by Polymarket as a French national, made large bets using four separate accounts on the platform in favor of Trump winning the race.

A total of 9 Polymarket accounts seemed to be controlled by the same entity based on their funding patterns, timing of transactions, and cash out to specific exchange deposit addresses.

Raymond also mentioned the recent reports regarding Polymarket in the US.

Polymarket Founder’s Home, Raided in the US

During the presidential campaign in the US, Polymarket was a strong attraction, and more than $3 billion was bet on the event. Predictions were correct about the outcome of the vote, and they anticipated a Donald Trump victory early.

Raymond also shared the prediction market’s activity graph from August until November 20, which clearly shows peak activity on November 5, the US elections day.

Since the elections, Polymarket’s activity declined but remained higher compared to August and September.