Home›Crypto›Regulation›South Korea blocks Polymarket access over gambling con…

South Korea blocks Polymarket access over gambling concerns

South Korea’s Korea Media and Communications Standards Commission said Polymarket facilitates gambling and approved the move after a July review linked to police and gambling regulators.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Regulation

South Korea has restricted local access to Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction market, citing violations of the country’s Criminal Act and National Sports Promotion Act, according to CoinDesk.

Regulators rejected Polymarket’s argument that the platform is peer-to-peer and therefore not subject to gambling rules, saying the operator still manages market creation and trading rules while providing crypto deposit, withdrawal and settlement systems and charging fees.

The commission approved the block after reviewing the service in July following requests from the National Police Agency and the National Gambling Control Commission. Police had also opened an investigation into local Polymarket users over suspected illegal gambling, local media reported.

Polymarket allows users to trade yes-or-no contracts tied to outcomes of real-world events such as elections, sports, economic data and the weather, CoinDesk notes. The restriction aligns South Korea with more than 30 other jurisdictions, including France and Spain, that have curtailed access due to ongoing gambling concerns.

More like this

Sources