South Korea has ordered domestic access to Polymarket blocked after regulators determined that the US-based prediction market facilitates gambling activity prohibited under national law.
The Korea Media and Communications Standards Commission (KMCSC) announced the decision on August 18 after its Communications Deliberation Subcommittee reviewed the platform following requests from the National Police Agency and the Integrated Supervisory Committee for Speculative Industries.
Polymarket allows users to place wagers through prediction contracts linked to events such as elections, sports, economic indicators and weather. South Korean authorities focused on its winner-takes-all structure, where users can lose their entire stake based on outcomes beyond their control.
Regulator Rejects Polymarket’s Legal Defense
Authorities also examined Polymarket’s role in running its markets. The regulator said the platform controls market creation and trading rules and operates systems for cryptocurrency deposits, withdrawals and settlements while collecting transaction fees.
Polymarket argued that it had removed Korean-language services and did not accept payments in Korean won. It also cited its use of non-custodial peer-to-peer transactions and smart contracts.
“Because the platform operates via non-custodial peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions and smart contracts, we do not act as an ‘organiser’,” the firm argued.
“Furthermore, because we do not directly collect or manage funds, nor do we issue sports lottery tickets, we do not satisfy the legal requirements for violating the Criminal Act or the National Sports Promotion Act, nor do we meet the criteria for speculative/gambling activities.”
The KMCSC rejected that position, saying technical arrangements and service methods do not remove domestic legal obligations.
“Technical features or service methods cannot exempt a platform from domestic legal compliance. Since Polymarket provides a real illegal gambling environment to domestic users, access blocking is unavoidable to protect them.”
The regulator also cited Polymarket markets concerning South Korea-specific subjects and said their speculative structure created risks for domestic users.
“The platform cannot evade the application of domestic laws simply by citing technical characteristics or service delivery methods – such as the presence or absence of a Korean-language service, decentralised technology, or centralised technologies (like trading interfaces and order books).
“Because Polymarket targets South Korea-specific issues (such as ‘August Precipitation in Seoul’) and provides a practical illegal gambling environment to domestic users based on a winner-take-all profit/loss structure driven by chance, an access block is inevitable to protect domestic users.”
South Korea Joins Expanding List Of Restrictions
Police began investigating South Korean Polymarket users over suspected illegal gambling in late May. The KMCSC opened its review on July 6.
South Korea now joins more than 30 jurisdictions that have restricted Polymarket access. France blocked the platform last month, while Australia and Germany imposed restrictions in 2025. Other jurisdictions listed in the supplied material include Spain, Indonesia, Argentina and Ukraine.
Polymarket currently lists 39 countries as fully restricted from accessing its platform, although South Korea was not included on that list at the time described in the supplied material.
Source:
“South Korea Blocks Polymarket for Illegal Gambling”, chosun.com, August 18, 2026
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