France Blocks Polymarket Access Over Unauthorized Gambling Concerns

France's National Gaming Authority said on July 17 that it will block access to prediction market platform Polymarket for users in France. The authority said French accounts had already been barred from financial transactions related to the platform since November 2024, but the website remained accessible and traffic from France kept rising. According to Odaily, the regulator also said June visits from French IP addresses reached 578,751. Polymarket allows users to trade on the outcomes of future events in areas including politics, economics and sports. Because the platform displays live odds for different events, French regulators said it amounts to promotion of unauthorized gambling websites. The authority said promoting unauthorized betting or gambling sites in any way is a criminal offense and can carry a maximum fine of 100,000 euros. It added that while French accounts can no longer conduct related transactions, access from French IP addresses continued to increase. The ban comes as European regulators pay closer attention to prediction market platforms.