HomeGambling IndustryPolymarket blocked in Belgium as regulator takes aim

Polymarket blocked in Belgium as regulator takes aim

LAWS AND REGULATIONS04 Feb 2025
2 min. read
Belgium

Polymarket, a US-based prediction market which garnered a lot of prominence during the US presidential election, has been targeted by another European jurisdiction – Belgium.

The country’s gambling watchdog, the Belgian Gaming Commission has included the platform on its list of illegal sites, limiting access to the domain name.

Belgium becomes latest to target Polymarket prediction market

The Kansspelocommissie has included Polymarket alongside two gambling sites, Amunra and Casino Hermes, although the platform has denied being offering any sort of unregulated gambling. Based on official records, Polymarket was listed on January 30.

Polymarket previously withdrew from the French market voluntarily after it faced scrutiny by the local watchdog.

However, Polymarket has been warned over its practices in Belgium, the regulator said, arguing that it had warned the platform twice to no avail. The platform also faced further scrutiny in Singapore where it was also outlawed and lumped with "illegal gambling sites," a depiction of its operations that Polymarket has firmly denied.

Rather, Polymarket is a prediction market and acts as an intermediary where people bet against an outcome of an event, but the outcome is not established by odds set by the platform itself. Rather, it’s the public that bets on either outcome, or thus sets the likelihood based on popular opinion.

A lawyer recently told CoinDesk, a premier media publication focused on cryptocurrency and blockchain developments, that platforms such as Polymarket are not in fact a "web3" form of gambling.

Prediction markets or illegal gambling – a thin line

However, this claim has stood on shaky grounds with a number of regulators, not least the Belgium and Singaporean ones.

In the United States, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has gone after platforms such as Kalshi, although the regulator has let up in its zeal and seems like prediction markets will now become the new normal in the country.

Donald Trump Jr. is even an advisor to Kalshi, which signals a shift in attitude towards such platforms.


Image credit: Unsplash.com

TOPICS: Polymarket
04 Feb 2025
2 min. read
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