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FollowingCrypto Regulatory Developments
South Korean regulators have ordered the blocking of Polymarket in China, ruling that the crypto prediction market constitutes an illegal gambling environment under current national laws.
The Korean Communications Standards Council issued the directive on August 18, citing two independent regulations. One is the provisions in the Criminal Law on facilitating gambling and opening casinos; the other is the National Sports Promotion Law, which prohibits similar gambling activities. Regulators have determined that Polymarket's "winner-take-all" model-in which users place bets on the outcome of political, sports and weather events-meets both definitions.
Platform's defense was not accepted
Polymarket submitted its defense to the committee before the ruling was issued. The platform said it has removed Korean services and will not accept payments in Korean won. At the same time, it pointed out its non-custodial structure, saying that transactions are executed through smart contracts and the platform does not directly hold user funds, so it should not be regarded as a gambling operator by Korean law.
The committee rejected all arguments. The statement said technology design options-including decentralization, transaction interfaces and order book structures-cannot be exempted under South Korean law. Regulators also pointed out that Polymarket plays an operational role in setting trading rules, operating markets, promoting the deposit and withdrawal of crypto assets, and collecting transaction fees, arguing that this level of participation constitutes operating gambling-like services, regardless of the underlying technology.
Multiple countries take similar actions
South Korea has joined the ranks of countries that have imposed restrictions on Polymarket. France, Australia, Germany and Ukraine have all taken action against the platform for gambling-related reasons.
The committee did not clarify what penalties would be imposed on users who tried to circumvent the blocking, nor did it outline any direct enforcement measures against Polymarket. The directive applies to visits within South Korea.
