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France orders country's internet service providers to block Polymarket
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- DeepHorus
France’s gambling regulator, the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), has ordered internet service providers to block Polymarket, classifying the prediction market platform as an illegal gambling site rather than a financial trading venue. The order, issued on July 16, 2025, comes after earlier restrictions failed to deter French users. The ANJ cited concerns over addictive mechanics, a lack of self-exclusion tools, and a high volume of visitors from France bypassing previous financial bans.
Polymarket, a decentralized prediction market platform, allows users to bet on outcomes of events such as elections and weather. In France, it attracted 578,751 visits from 205,057 unique users in June, according to Similarweb data cited by the regulator. Despite a ban on financial transactions since November 2024, users could easily access the site using a VPN. The ANJ noted that the homepage remained accessible, displaying live odds and promoting unauthorized gambling services.
The regulator emphasized that the real-time odds display effectively promotes Polymarket's offerings, even though the platform is not authorized in France. Violations can result in fines of up to €100,000 ($114,380). Polymarket did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The ANJ's action follows a complaint from France's weather service, Météo-France, over a tampered temperature sensor linked to weather bets, which led to an investigation by the Paris prosecutor's cybercrime unit on May 4.
The regulator also pointed to a French trader known as "Fredi9999," who moved U.S. election odds with multimillion-dollar positions in 2024, as an example of market manipulation risks. France's stance on prediction markets hardened in February 2026, when the ANJ reclassified them as illegal gambling, citing addictive mechanics and the absence of stake limits and self-exclusion tools. Last year, France blocked 1,290 gambling-related URLs.
France joins a growing list of countries restricting Polymarket, now blocked in over 30 jurisdictions. Switzerland blocked the site in November 2024, followed by Poland, Singapore, and Belgium in early 2025. Portugal moved in January 2026, and Spain issued a temporary block in May pending a probe. Brazil, Argentina, India, Indonesia, Italy, Germany, Romania, Hungary, and Ukraine have also taken action against the platform.
The implications for Polymarket are significant, as the platform faces increasing regulatory pressure globally. The ANJ's decision could set a precedent for other European regulators, potentially limiting the platform's user base and liquidity. However, the effectiveness of such blocks remains questionable, as users have demonstrated the ability to bypass restrictions via VPNs. The future of prediction markets in France and beyond will depend on how regulators balance innovation with consumer protection and gambling laws.
