The ANJ moves from threats to action: the National Gaming Authority has ordered French internet service providers to block Polymarket, after a first warning in November 2024. It cites illegal gaming activities and risks of manipulation. The decision, announced on Friday, tightens the French framework around predictive markets.
In brief
- The ANJ ordered the geoblocking of Polymarket from French access providers.
- The platform claims to be already blocked in 36 regions at the time of publication.
- The Paris prosecutor’s office opened an investigation in May 2026 into the lack of identity verification.
Paris tightens the screws on predictive markets
The ANJ has crossed the threshold of effective blocking, after a warning already formulated in November 2024. France is not at its first reflex of distrust in the face of unsupervised predictive betting platforms.
A Stanford study recently documented a risk of manipulation in short-term contracts, which strengthens the position of European regulators. Two years after the first threat, the ultimatum materialized: French access providers must now cut off Polymarket. Yet the platform continues to boast billions of dollars in volume traded and an expanding user base.
The regulator recalls that advertising an unauthorized gaming site constitutes an offense, punishable by a fine of 100,000 euros. Polymarket does not have any operating authorization on French territory. The decision is based on simple logic: the national framework qualifies predictive markets as illegal gambling when they do not comply with its requirements.
The rigged bets that changed the decision
The ANJ points to addictive mechanisms comparable to those of regulated gaming, but lacking the protections of the legal market. The regulator adds a more serious risk: the manipulation of results on certain event-driven contracts. According to the authority, some of the bets offered on the platform seemed rigged, like weather contracts whose sensors had been hacked.
Some of the bets offered on this platform appeared to be rigged: for example, bets on the weather revealed that weather sensors may have been hacked.
The Paris prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation, via its cybercrime unitfrom May 2026. The investigations highlighted the absence of identity verification, in particular KYC checks.
Polymarket under the crossfire of global regulators
France joins an already long list of jurisdictions that have restricted access to Polymarket. Singapore, Poland, Portugal, Hungary, Ukraine, Brazil and Indonesia have already blocked the platform. This indicates being geoblocked in 36 regions at the time of publication.
Across the Atlantic, pressure is also mounting. Kentucky subpoenaed five prediction market platforms, including Kalshi and Polymarket, on June 17, accusing them of operating unlicensed sports betting. At least 17 other states have followed suit. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, for its part, attacked eight states, believing that they are encroaching on its exclusive federal prerogative over event contracts.
In short, the blocking ordered by the ANJ marks a turning point in the pursuit of unauthorized predictive markets, at the crossroads of three pressures. France is toughening its national framework, Europe is questioning the nature of these products, and the United States is increasing its legal fronts. ESMA has already likened predictive markets to binary options prohibited for individuals, signaling lasting regulatory convergence. Polymarket will have to choose between compliance and an increasingly constrained geographical withdrawal.
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