We cover many of the ongoing U.S. state-level battles between gaming regulators, prediction markets, and the federal CFTC. But international battles also continue to mount, with France being the latest country to reassert a full ban on Polymarket.
French gaming regulators have directed internet service providers to implement blocks preventing access to a leading prediction trading platform. Officials acted after data showed sustained French user engagement despite restrictions they had previously ordered. The national gaming authority classified the platform’s continued availability as promoting unauthorized gambling activities.
Records indicated 578,751 visits from within France in the month preceding the directive, according to France 24. This not-insignificant volume persisted even after the transaction ban took effect in November 2024. The large numbers demonstrated that financial limits alone had not achieved the desired reduction in Polymarket activity.
So, French authorities went to the IPSs. Traders who continue to use the Polymarket platform now face direct network-level barriers. These barriers replace the quickly-discovered workarounds that previously allowed engagement despite transaction rules. The change immediately alters access patterns for users in the jurisdiction.
Rising Visits Prompt Infrastructure-Level Enforcement
Engagement metrics continued to climb long after the 2024 transaction prohibition took effect. The 578,000+ visits recorded in the most recent tracked month revealed the scale of ongoing interest despite the ban. Regulators interpreted these numbers as proof that partial controls left too much room for circumvention. (It should be noted that large numbers of users were accessing Polymarket during its U.S. ban, prior to its regulated U.S. version launch.)
In a high-profile case in France earlier this year, the national weather service lodged a complaint after one of its probes was hacked to manipulate data used in trading on the Polymarket platform.
Consequently, French authorities turned to the nation’s ISPs. Blocking the site before it loads prevents users from reaching it through standard connections. Traders adapted to earlier limits by finding alternative connection routes to the platform. The ISP directive removes those routes at the source. Officials expect the broader approach to yield results that narrower steps could not, though obviously it will not stop all access. Whatever the French version of “where there’s a will, there’s a way” would be appropriate here.
Meanwhile, the persistent visits underscored the Polymarket platform’s draw even under legal constraint.
Advertising Violations Drive the ISP Block Decision
The core Polymarket violation in France involves the platform functioning as an advertisement for betting without required licenses. Gaming officials treat this as a criminal offense under existing statutes. Potential fines can reach over $100,000, reflecting the seriousness with which authorities view unauthorized promotion.
As a result, operators of comparable platforms may need to reassess how their services appear across different jurisdictions with similar penalty structures for any marketing. The directive signals that promotional reach itself can trigger fine responses. Encouraging visitors, even if they are blocked from wagering upon arrival, could constitute a civil violation.
Immediate Disruptions for Traders and Platform Operations
Traders in the affected jurisdiction now face site unavailability through standard internet connections. What had required only fairly simple navigation around transaction rules now demands an entire internet workaround for those still intent on trading on Polymarket from inside France.
Polymarket will lose direct access to users in this region, reducing its overall audience by hundreds of thousands of interested French traders. Traders exploring alternatives may gravitate toward platforms that have not encountered similar access restrictions.
This directive fits a newer pattern of regulators applying ISP-level blocks to services that promote unauthorized activities. Other oversight bodies have adopted comparable tactics when transaction-restriction measures and easily worked-around “gates” proved insufficient. The method prioritizes entry-point prevention over repeated individual penalties. Prevention versus cure.
Traders and operators will monitor whether additional jurisdictions adopt parallel measures in the coming months. The regulatory environment continues to evolve in response to demonstrated patterns of demand, incident reports, and, obviously, the impact of platforms like Polymarket on domestically licensed online gambling operators that provide tax revenue to the state.
The PolyPunter staff works tirelessly to bring you the latest and most insightful news, information, and tips on the fast-growing economic, financial, and social phenomenon that is prediction markets.
