The French National Gambling Authority (ANJ) has officially instructed internet service providers across the country to block access to Polymarket. While prediction markets have exploded in popularity over the last two years—processing billions of dollars in trading volume on everything from elections to geopolitical developments—French authorities are now putting their foot down. The regulator has definitively classified these event-based prediction websites as illegal gambling operations that operate entirely outside the boundaries of national law.
Rigged Bets and Missing Protections
The primary driving force behind this sweeping ban is a combination of consumer protection issues and suspected market manipulation. According to the ANJ, Polymarket offers highly addictive betting features but completely lacks the basic protective mechanisms required in heavily regulated legal gambling markets. Without these guardrails, regulators argue that everyday users are left incredibly vulnerable.
To make matters worse, authorities have raised serious alarms about outcome manipulation tied to specific event contracts. French regulators noted that some of the bets offered on the platform appeared to be blatantly rigged. In one particularly alarming instance, bets placed on weather outcomes were compromised because the physical weather sensors themselves had allegedly been hacked. This prompted the cybercrime unit of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office to launch a formal investigation in May 2026. Their probe revealed a severe lack of basic identity verification protocols, such as standard Know Your Customer (KYC) checks. Furthermore, the ANJ issued a stern warning that anyone caught advertising these unauthorized gambling sites in France could face criminal charges and massive fines of up to 100,000 euros.
A Growing Wave of Global and US Regulatory Pushback
France is far from the only nation shutting the door on Polymarket. The platform currently acknowledges that it is geoblocked in at least 36 different regions around the world. Countries including Singapore, Poland, Portugal, Hungary, Ukraine, Brazil, and Indonesia have already restricted access to the site. France had actually been telegraphing this exact move since November 2024, warning for years that the platform was failing to comply with strictly enforced national gambling laws.
Meanwhile, prediction markets are facing an equally intense regulatory battle in the United States. On June 17, Kentucky filed a lawsuit against five different prediction platforms, explicitly naming both Kalshi and Polymarket, for allegedly operating as unlicensed sports betting rings. At least 17 other states have quickly followed Kentucky’s lead. In a complex twist of jurisdictional warfare, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has stepped in to sue eight of those states, arguing that local governments are wrongfully interfering with the federal regulator’s exclusive authority over federally regulated event contracts. As billions of dollars continue to flow through these platforms, the global regulatory crackdown shows no signs of slowing down.
