France Orders ISPs to Block Polymarket as Scrutiny Widens
The regulator said Polymarket could expose users to major losses and that some wagers may be manipulated or based on insider information.
- On Thursday, July 16, 2026, the National Gambling Authority ordered French internet service providers to block access to Polymarket, citing unauthorized gambling and user circumvention of earlier geoblocking measures.
- The ANJ classified the platform as an illegal gambling service, noting its audience continued to grow despite previous restrictions despite recording 578,751 visits and 205,057 unique visitors in June 2026.
- Regulators raised alarms that some wagers "appeared to be rigged," citing concerns that weather sensors linked to certain markets "may have been hacked," and that insider information may have influenced bets.
- France is not alone in its crackdown, as the Czech Republic also ordered internet providers to block the platform while the ANJ warned promoting unauthorized gambling can carry fines of up to €100,000.
- The European Securities and Markets Authority is assessing whether event-based contracts qualify as financial instruments under MiFID, potentially exposing prediction markets to broader restrictions across Europe.
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French Gambling Regulator Orders ISPs To Block Polymarket
French Gambling Regulator Orders ISPs To Block Polymarket Authored by Zoltan Vardai via CoinTelegraph.com, 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 u…
The Autorité nationale de jeux (ANJ) in France announced Friday blocking access to the betting site on Polymarket news, on which it was already prohibited since November 2024 to carry out financial transactions from France.
France Orders ISP Block Of Polymarket, Escalating Prediction Market Confrontation
Polymarket just got kicked to the curb in France. While the blockchain-based prediction market platform amasses users across jurisdictions, French authorities have moved to enforce a straight-up ban at the network level. Internet service providers must now block access, according to the original report, a decision that targets the platform not for financial fraud but for its psychological pull on users. The regulator’s specific grievances The Fr…
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