Belgium Adds Polymarket to List of Banned Websites

Belgium’s gambling regulator, the Kansspelcommissie, has added the world’s largest prediction market, Polymarket, to its list of blacklisted sites. This means that access to the website will be blocked for players in the country.

According to the authority, this decision came after several warnings.

Polymarket Has Been Trending Since the US Elections

Polymarket offers prediction markets for a wealth of events, including political elections, legal outcomes and even weather patterns. The nature of these novel products has resonated with fans who have enjoyed putting money on the line when predicting the outcomes of popular happenings.

Analysts have even suggested that such products offer more reliable forecasts for elections than traditional polls, increasing prediction markets’ popularity and controversy alike.

Polymarket was found in 2020 by Shayne Coplan and is closely tied to the crypto sector, offering accessible bets to blockchain enthusiasts. The recent presidential election in the US provided the platform with a huge boost in popularity as billions of dollars were wagered on the outcome.

However, since many markets consider Polymarket’s products to constitute unregulated betting, the company has received bans in many markets, including the United States where it faces an investigation by the CFTC.

In the meantime, Belgium moved to block Polymarket, arguing that it violated its regulations.

Polymarket Did Not Respond to the Regulator’s Warnings

According to the Kansspelcommissie, Polymarket did not respond to several warnings by the commission. The authority had warned the prediction market about the unregulated nature of its products on three separate occasions but received no answer by the website.

As a result, the Kansspelcommissie was left with no choice but to add Polymarket to its blacklist. The authority requested Belgium’s public prosecutor to block IP access to Polymarket, effectively preventing the prediction market from reaching local players.

The Platform Was Banned in Other Markets Too

Polymarket’s ban in Belgium comes not long after the platform’s exit from France. For context, France’s gaming regulator, the ANJ, had launched an investigation into the market after a local player wagered millions on Trump’s victory. Because of that, Polymarket decided to pull off from the market and spare itself potential trouble.

More recently, Singapore blocked access to Polymarket, arguing that its products were illegal. Just like Belgium, the country blocked IP access to the market, saying that only GRA-licensed operators are allowed to offer their products to local players.

Decentralized Betting Remains Controversial

The decentralized nature of Polymarket has been praised by many and has succeeded in attracting support from high-profile investors.

Others, however, have expressed concerns about Polymarket, accusing it of market manipulation. Some reports have suggested that up to a third of the platform’s trading activity might be wash trading – a practice where traders repeatedly buy and sell assets to create the illusion of high market activity.