France tells ISPs: Polymarket? Non, merci 🇫🇷

France's Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ) has ordered internet service providers to block access to prediction-market platform Polymarket, calling such websites illegal gambling under French law. In a Friday press release, the National Gambling Authority said Polymarket's operations are not authorized in France and warned that advertising unauthorized gambling sites constitutes a criminal offense punishable by fines of up to 100,000 euros ($114,000).

The ANJ said Polymarket offers "addictive features" similar to regulated gambling products but "amplified by the absence of the protective mechanisms found in the legal gambling market." The regulator also flagged potential outcome manipulation on some event contracts, noting: "Some of the bets offered on this platform appeared to be rigged: for example, bets on the weather revealed that weather sensors may have been hacked." The cybercrime unit of the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation in May 2026 and found that the platform lacked identity verification, including Know Your Customer checks.

Prediction markets allow users to buy and sell contracts tied to the outcomes of future events, from elections and sporting events to economic data and geopolitical developments. Polymarket has drawn billions of dollars in trading volume over the past two years, even as regulators across multiple jurisdictions weigh whether its event contracts constitute illegal gambling or unlicensed financial products. The company said it was geoblocked in 36 regions at press time.

France's ANJ first signaled plans to block the platform in November 2024 for failing to comply with national gambling laws. Other countries that have moved to block Polymarket include Singapore, Poland, Portugal, Hungary, Ukraine, Brazil and Indonesia.

Prediction markets have also attracted scrutiny in the United States. On June 17, Kentucky sued five prediction-market platforms, including Kalshi and Polymarket, accusing them of operating unlicensed sports betting platforms, and at least 17 other states have filed similar actions. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sued eight states, arguing they interfered with the federal regulator's exclusive authority over federally regulated event contracts.