Key Takeaways
- Polymarket blocked in France after France’s National Gaming Authority (ANJ) cited gambling risks.
- In a press release, the ANJ said that “prediction websites are considered illegal gambling”. This is the logic behind the ban on Polymarket.
- France had previously banned local financial transactions and ordered platform-level restrictions on Polymarket starting in late 2024, which were bypassed by users.
- The French authorities suspect that Polymarket was involved in tampering with a Météo-France weather sensor at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport to rig betting contracts on the platform.
- Other European countries that acted against Polymarket include Spain, Portugal, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Belgium, and Poland.
Polymarket, a decentralized prediction market, has been banned from operating in France after France’s National Gaming Authority (ANJ) cited gambling risks. ANJ has ordered all local internet service providers to block access to Polymarket. Regulators classified the Polymarket platform as an illegal, unlicensed gambling site, citing addictive mechanics, a lack of protective user controls, and ongoing criminal investigations into manipulated, insider-traded weather bets.
The French government’s crackdown on Polymarket was triggered by a sudden surge in the site’s traffic. In June, Polymarket recorded over 578,000 visits from French IP addresses. The ANJ had previously asked Polymarket to block financial transactions from France, but users successfully bypassed the restrictions.
France Considers Prediction Websites as Illegal Gambling Sites
In a press release, the ANJ said that “prediction websites are considered illegal gambling”. This is the logic behind the ban on Polymarket. The country has escalated its regulatory oversight on cryptocurrency-based event markets operating without local authorization.
There are several reasons that the French authorities have cited as reasons for this ban. The country had failed to geofence the crypto market. France had previously banned local financial transactions and ordered platform-level restrictions on Polymarket starting in late 2024. Despite this, French users heavily bypassed the restrictions using VPNs, logging 578,751 visits in June 2026 alone. The current ban was brought about to address this situation.
The ANJ declared that leaving the main website accessible to display real-time odds functions as illegal marketing for unauthorized gambling. Under French law, promoting an unlicensed betting site is a criminal offence that carries fines of up to €100,000 ($114,000). The ANJ also emphasizes that prediction markets use highly addictive mechanics similar to traditional sports betting, but lack legal protective guardrails like spending limits, minor restrictions, or self-exclusion options. Polymarket had also violated the KYC verification rules.
Market Manipulation and Rigged Bets
The French authorities suspect that Polymarket was involved in tampering with a Météo-France weather sensor at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport to rig betting contracts on the platform. In April, automated temperature readings spiked unexpectedly by 4°C to 5°C during the evenings of April 6 and April 15, reaching the highest recorded temperature at the site for those days. These suspicious spikes coincided with heavy, well-timed betting volumes on Polymarket, with some traders winning tens of thousands of dollars off unlikely temperature outcomes. On investigation, it became clear that the localized sensors were temporarily heated by an external source, such as a portable hair dryer.
The country’s regulatory mechanism responded to this suspected fraud; ANJ cited these manipulated bets and other integrity concerns as a primary reason to order internet service providers to block access to Polymarket nationwide. Regulators have highlighted severe systemic risks in prediction markets that settle against localized, physical data sources, like weather probes or think-tank maps, making them highly susceptible to physical tampering and insider knowledge.
Recent Regulatory Updates on Polymarket in Other European Countries
Some other European countries, other than France, have also imposed bans on Polymarket. On July 13, 2026, the Czech Finance Ministry formally added Polymarket to its official gambling blacklist. Under the country’s Gambling Act, local ISPs are legally required to shut down access to the platform within 15 days.
Other European countries that acted against Polymarket include Spain (which initiated disciplinary proceedings and a block in May 2026), Portugal (nationwide ISP ban ordered in March 2026), Bulgaria (court-ordered ISP block in February 2026), Belgium (banned in February 2025), and Poland (blacklisted in early 2025). Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands maintain rigid restrictions or active unauthorized gambling listings that heavily penalize local user onboarding.
The Bottom Line
Polymarket has been the speck of dust in the eye of many European countries with it acting like a gambling site. France’s ban on this prediction market platform is aimed at safeguarding its citizens from illegal gambling activities. The regulator cited consumer protection risks, noting the site lacks safeguards like deposit limits or self-exclusion, and warned that displaying live betting odds constitutes unlawful advertising.
The French crackdown follows ongoing efforts across Europe to contain prediction markets. Polymarket is entirely blocked or restricted in more than 30 countries globally, which points to the gravity of the situation, which has led to the ban.