French Regulator Threatens to Ban Polymarket

The French gambling regulator, the National Gaming Authority (NGA), is reportedly contemplating banning access to the predictions market Polymarket.

France's gambling regulator is considering banning access to the predictions market Polymarket, despite the platform not specifically targeting French users.

An anonymous source within the National Gaming Authority (NGA) told Big Whale that the regulator can block access to Polymarket even if it does not directly target French users.

The regulator reportedly became interested in Polymarket following claims that an anonymous French trader pocketed $19 million after correctly predicting Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election.

While mainstream media initially shied away from reporting on the predictions market, Polymarket consistently showed Trump leading Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, sometimes by double-digit figures.

However, many U.S. officials, including Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Rostin Behnam, have warned that predictions markets could face enforcement actions if they offer unregistered derivative contracts to U.S. residents.

Behnam has also stated that the CFTC is keeping a close eye on offshore prediction markets, including Polymarket.

French regulator: Polymarket activities are illegal in France

The French regulator, seemingly taking a cue from the CFTC, has said that Polymarket's activities amount to gambling and are therefore illegal in France.

“Even if Polymarket uses cryptocurrencies in its operations, it remains a betting activity and this is not legal in France,” said a source within the NGA.

France's gambling regulator is reportedly examining Polymarket's operations and its compliance with French gambling laws, according to the report.

Meanwhile, William O’Rorke, a partner at ORWL Avocats, outlined potential enforcement actions the regulator could take against Polymarket and its affiliates.

“The National Gambling Authority can block the domain name in France and even pressure entities that give the platform access to the French market, such as media outlets that have distributed Polymarket links or gaming directories,” said O’Rorke.

However, the Big Whale report noted that users could easily circumvent a block, as Polymarket doesn't require users to provide personal information to create an account — only a cryptocurrency wallet. Even with geo-blocking, users could easily use a virtual private network (VPN), the report added.