Key Points
- Polymarket is reportedly no longer accessible to users in France, the US, and other jurisdictions, prohibiting bet placements.
- The prediction market is under scrutiny by France’s national gambling authority after the US elections.
The Polymarket prediction market reportedly became inaccessible to French users today, November 22. The reports come shortly after the website drew attention from France’s national gaming authority after the US elections.
Polymarket Blocks French, US Users
Earlier today, Grégory Raymond, a journalist at The Big Whale, a decentralized news company, shared a post via his X account, saying that Polymarket is no longer accessible from France.
He said that it’s no longer possible to place bets via the website, and he managed to place one thanks to a VPN.
He also shared the message from Polymarket, saying that he seems to be located in the US, France, or another restricted jurisdiction.
The message stated that trading is not available to US persons, people located in the US, France, or people located in restricted jurisdictions.
The notes also stated that the use of measures to circumvent or attempt to circumvent these restrictions is strictly prohibited.
While Raymond highlighted that Polymarket is not available to people in the US, he said that he doesn’t understand the ban in France.
Why is Polymarket Banned in France?
Raymond continued his thread and said that even if Polymarket uses crypto in its operations, it remains a betting activity and this is not legal in France.
He found out the information from a source close to the National Gaming Authority (ANJ), the country’s gambling regulator.
Raymond also quoted a lawyer and crypto regulator, William O’Rorke, and said that Polymarket is about betting money on something random, which is the definition of gambling, just like a sports bet.
According to his notes, Polymarket does not have a license in France.
Also, Bloomberg highlighted that France’s gambling regulator examined Polymarket’s operations to see if it complies with its rules, following a surge in user demand around the US Presidential elections.
Polymarket’s Operations Examined by French Regulator
This came after a pseudonymous trader, identified by Polymarket as a French national, made large bets using four separate accounts on the platform in favor of Trump winning the race.
The blockchain analytics platform Chainalysis published a report on November 7, showing that a whale, a French man named Theo, controlled 4 Polymarket accounts and had significant positions betting on a Trump win. The estimated profits were $78.7 million.
A total of 9 Polymarket accounts seemed to be controlled by the same entity based on their funding patterns, timing of transactions, and cash out to specific exchange deposit addresses.
Raymond also mentioned the recent reports regarding Polymarket in the US.
Polymarket Founder’s Home, Raided in the US
Raymond recalled in this thread that in the US, the Polymarket founder and CEO, Shayne Coplan, was raided at home, shortly after the US elections, during which the authorities seized his mobile phone in order to check his private communications, especially the ones involving political figures.
During the presidential campaign in the US, Polymarket was a strong attraction, and more than $3 billion was bet on the event. Predictions were correct about the outcome of the vote, and they anticipated a Donald Trump victory early.
Raymond also shared the prediction market’s activity graph from August until November 20, which clearly shows peak activity on November 5, the US elections day.
Since the elections, Polymarket’s activity declined but remained higher compared to August and September.
