South Korea has ordered domestic access to Polymarket to be blocked after determining that the prediction market platform provides users with an illegal gambling environment.
The Korea Media and Communications Standards Commission said its communications review subcommittee approved the access block on Tuesday.
The commission found that Polymarket carried information that could facilitate gambling or the operation of a gambling venue under South Korea’s Criminal Act. It also determined that the platform could constitute a prohibited similar activity under the National Sports Promotion Act.
Polymarket allows users to trade on the outcomes of political, economic, sporting and other events using digital assets. The platform’s markets have also covered elections, interest-rate decisions, international conflicts and weather conditions.
The Korean regulator said Polymarket’s winner-takes-all structure encouraged gambling because users’ financial gains and losses depended on events they could not control.
It also considered the operator’s role in creating markets, setting trading rules and providing digital-asset deposit, withdrawal and settlement systems. The commission said the platform generated economic benefits through transaction fees while creating an environment in which user funds were effectively collected and distributed.
Polymarket argued that it had removed its Korean-language service and did not support payments in Korean won, meaning it should not be subject to South Korea’s information and communications laws.
The company also said its non-custodial peer-to-peer structure and use of blockchain-based smart contracts meant it did not directly collect or manage user funds.
However, the commission said companies could not ‘evade the application of domestic laws’ based on language availability, technical characteristics or whether their services were decentralized.
It highlighted a market allowing users to trade on Seoul’s August rainfall as an example of content tailored to Korean users.
The regulator consulted the Korean National Police Agency, the Gambling Control Commission and the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation before reaching its decision. The agencies said Polymarket’s operations could fall within domestic laws covering gambling and the establishment of gambling venues.
The decision follows a regulatory review launched earlier this year, when Korean authorities began examining whether Polymarket should be classified as an illegal gambling platform.
As prediction markets attract heightened regulatory attention, Polymarket has found itself at the center of mounting scrutiny, facing investigations in the U.S. and growing compliance challenges in Japan related to gambling regulations.
Also, last year, the Singapore Gambling Regulatory Authority ordered access to the platform to be blocked, citing concerns about unauthorized gambling services.
