On July 16, 2026, France's gambling regulator, the Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), ordered internet service providers to block access to Polymarket, a major prediction market platform. The move was driven by claims that Polymarket operates illegal gambling services without proper authorization within France.
Regulatory Actions and Investigation
The ANJ highlighted that Polymarket offers addictive gambling-like features but fails to provide the legal safeguards expected of licensed gambling sites. Advertising unauthorized gambling platforms in France carries fines of up to 100,000 euros ($114,000). This ban follows earlier warnings from the regulator dating back to November 2024, when France first signaled its intent to block Polymarket for breaching national gambling laws.
Concerns about possible outcome manipulation also prompted a separate probe. Some weather-related betting contracts on Polymarket raised suspicion, with evidence suggesting hacked weather sensors may have influenced results. This triggered an investigation by the cybercrime division of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office starting in May 2026. also authorities found Polymarket lacking solid identity verification processes such as Know Your Customer (KYC) checks.
Polymarket has expanded quickly globally, offering contracts linked to elections, sports, and economic data. However, its rapid growth has invited growing regulatory challenges. The platform is now blocked in 36 regions worldwide including Spain, Brazil, and Singapore. Spain also implemented a temporary ban on Polymarket and its competitor Kalshi in May 2026. Meanwhile, in the United States, states like Kentucky and 17 others have filed lawsuits accusing these platforms of unlicensed sports gambling. The US derivatives regulator has also stepped up, proposing new draft rules for prediction markets.
According to sources cited by Reuters, Polymarket’s annualized revenue recently exceeded $1 billion, indicating the scale and stakes involved in this regulatory clash.
