Australia Launches Investigation into Prediction Platform Polymarket

Australia’s communications watchdog, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), has launched an official investigation into Polymarket, a blockchain-based prediction platform, Crikey reports.

The inquiry comes in the wake of the country’s federal election held on May 3, after it surfaced that Polymarket had been paying local influencers to promote betting markets tied to the political event. The regulator has now confirmed it’s formally looking into how Polymarket operates and advertises in the country.

“The ACMA has opened an investigation into the provision and advertising of the Polymarket service,” the agency said in a public statement.

Back in April, Crikey was the first outlet to report that local influencers were being paid to market Polymarket’s political markets. 

Some bloggers reportedly accepted the offer and shared Polymarket-sponsored posts with betting-related content on their social media pages.

Polymarket has already run into similar issues overseas. The platform is currently blocked in France, Singapore, Belgium, and Poland.

Australia remains one of the global leaders in gambling losses per capita. According to Queensland state data, Australians lost nearly $32 billion to gambling over the 2022-2023 period.