South Korea has moved to block domestic access to Polymarket after its media standards regulator concluded the crypto-based prediction market effectively facilitates illegal gambling.
The Korea Media and Communications Standards Commission approved an access-blocking corrective measure Tuesday, according to local media reports citing the regulator. Authorities said Polymarket’s structure allows users to win or lose money based on uncertain future events, placing parts of the service within the scope of South Korean gambling laws.
The regulator said markets tied to politics, elections, economics, sports and weather could encourage speculative betting, while some sports-related contracts may also violate the National Sports Promotion Act.
Officials also pointed to Polymarket’s broader role in operating the service, including creating markets, setting trading rules and providing systems for crypto deposits, withdrawals and settlement, arguing those features went beyond simply providing neutral technology for users.
Polymarket rejected that interpretation, arguing that it does not offer Korean-language services, does not support payments in South Korean won and relies on non-custodial peer-to-peer transactions executed through blockchain-based smart contracts.
The commission, however, said Polymarket’s technical structure did not exempt it from local law, pointing to Korea-focused markets, including contracts linked to rainfall in Seoul, as evidence that the platform remained accessible and relevant to domestic users.
Prediction markets face growing global restrictions
Polymarket has faced mounting regulatory pressure outside South Korea as governments debate whether prediction contracts should be treated as financial products or gambling.
In January 2022, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission ordered Polymarket to wind down non-compliant event contracts after finding it had operated an unregistered derivatives market.
The U.S approach later shifted, with Polymarket securing a route back into the market in 2025 after acquiring CFTC-licensed exchange QCEX and receiving clearance to relaunch under federal oversight.
Switzerland put Polymarket on its gambling blocklist in November 2024, with Singapore blocking the platform a month later. Poland and Belgium took similar steps in early 2025 over unlicensed gambling concerns.
The crackdown widened in 2026, with Brazil blocking Polymarket, Kalshi and other prediction platforms in April over products regulators said resembled unauthorized betting, followed by Indonesia in May after it classified Polymarket as online gambling.
France escalated its restrictions in July 2026 by ordering internet service providers to block Polymarket over illegal gambling, consumer-loss and manipulation concerns. The regulator said the restriction would remain until Polymarket complied with French gambling rules, though the company has said it plans to challenge the decision in court.
South Korea’s latest action adds another major market to a growing group of jurisdictions restricting prediction platforms, highlighting the divide over whether such event contracts should be treated as regulated derivatives or gambling.
