Polymarket to Challenge Full Platform Block in France

^{Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan}

Prediction market platform Polymarket plans to challenge in court a decision by France’s National Gambling Authority (ANJ) to block access to its website, the company said in a statement.

Polymarket described the regulator’s decision as unexpected. The company said it had already barred users in France from trading in November 2024, while continuing to allow access to the website for viewing market-implied probabilities for various events. The full block also affected visitors who used Polymarket solely as a source of information.

The company also disputes the classification of its operations as sports betting.

Polymarket argues that users buy and sell contracts directly from one another, with prices reflecting participants’ assessments of the likelihood of a particular outcome. The platform itself is not a party to the trades and does not profit from any specific result.

The French regulator, however, considers that transactions available on the platform may fall within the definition of illegal gambling. It previously said that prediction markets carry risks associated with gambling while failing to provide users with the consumer protections required by law.

The regulator has also raised concerns over insufficient customer identity checks and said an investigation into the platform’s activities was underway. The inquiry is being conducted by the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office cybercrime unit.

Polymarket said it remains in talks with French authorities, including representatives of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office. The company did not specify when it plans to file its court challenge.