French authorities have moved to block access to Polymarket, the world’s largest decentralized prediction platform. The National Gaming Authority (ANJ) confirmed the decision this week, citing concerns over the platform’s compliance with national gambling laws.
For months, the platform—which allows users to bet on political outcomes, sporting events, and economic shifts using cryptocurrency—has operated in a legal gray area. While the site claims to be a prediction market, the French regulator views its operations as unauthorized gambling.
The ANJ’s intervention follows a surge in traffic to the site, particularly during the recent U.S. presidential election. French users accounted for a notable portion of that activity, drawing the attention of officials tasked with enforcing the country’s strict “Loi sur les jeux d’argent.”
“We are currently in the process of restricting access to the platform for users in France,” an ANJ spokesperson told local media. The agency has been working with internet service providers to ensure the site’s primary domain remains inaccessible to domestic IP addresses.
Polymarket has long maintained that its platform is not a casino, but a tool for “information discovery.” By allowing market forces to price in the probability of future events, the platform argues it provides a more accurate view of reality than traditional polling.
Critics, however, point to the lack of “Know Your Customer” (KYC) requirements for many users and the potential for market manipulation. When a single whale account—later revealed to be a French national—placed massive wagers on a Donald Trump victory, it fueled concerns that the platform was becoming a tool for high-stakes political influence rather than neutral forecasting.
The move by France reflects a growing trend across Europe. Regulators are increasingly wary of decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms that bypass traditional financial oversight. While users can technically circumvent geo-blocks using VPNs, the ANJ’s action signals a formal shift toward zero tolerance for unregulated betting markets.
For now, the platform remains operational in most other jurisdictions. Whether other EU member states follow Paris’s lead will likely depend on how aggressively the platform moves to implement stricter identity verification and licensing protocols.
For Polymarket, the French ban is more than a technical hurdle. It is a warning that in the eyes of European regulators, the distinction between a “prediction market” and a “bookmaker” is a line they intend to enforce.
