South Korea Orders Access Block to Polymarket Over Gambling Concerns

The August 18 decision followed a weeks-long review of the platform’s operations, including its market creation, fee structures, and the settlement of trades between users. Officials concluded that Polymarket provides an environment that facilitates forbidden conduct under the National Sports Promotion Act and the Criminal Act. While the platform argued that its non-custodial, peer-to-peer model and use of smart contracts exempted it from traditional gambling regulations, the committee rejected these claims, noting that the company’s role in setting rules and collecting transaction fees constitutes economic benefit from gambling-like activity.

Regulators specifically pointed to markets tied to local events, such as rainfall in Seoul, as evidence of the platform’s direct engagement with domestic users. The committee maintained that the absence of a Korean-language interface or the use of cryptocurrency does not shield the service from enforcement. This move aligns with a broader trend of international scrutiny; similar access blocks have been implemented in India, France, the Czech Republic, and Germany. The latest action in Seoul follows a criminal investigation launched in May into domestic users participating in election-related betting markets on the site.