{"id":777037907,"date":"2026-02-11T08:59:46","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T11:59:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777037907"},"modified":"2026-04-21T14:29:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T17:29:35","slug":"australian-regulator-classifies-prediction-markets-as-illegal-gambling-in-probe-into-polymarket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/australian-regulator-classifies-prediction-markets-as-illegal-gambling-in-probe-into-polymarket","title":{"rendered":"Australian regulator classifies prediction markets as illegal gambling in probe into Polymarket"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The ACMA’s investigation concluded that prediction markets do not qualify as financial trading tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Australia.-\u00a0 The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has concluded that prediction market platforms constitute illegal gambling rather than financial trading tools in a move that could have big implications for the rapidly expanding sector. The regulator concluded that the platforms fall under gambling laws and cannot legally operate without a licence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It specifically looked at Polymarket and concluded that the operator’s structure did not meet the criteria for financial products under Australian corporate law. The regulator found that the platform lacked investment mechanisms, risk management structures and qualifying payment frameworks typically associated with financial derivatives. Instead, users were staking money on binary outcomes, expecting to profit from correct predictions, it found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because Polymarket positioned itself as a financial service, it never applied for an Australian gambling license, placing it in breach of the country\u2019s Interactive Gambling Act. The regulator subsequently added the platform to Australia\u2019s blacklist of prohibited gambling websites, requiring internet service providers to block access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The investigation revealed that Australian users were able to access the platform with minimal restrictions<\/strong>. ACMA staff reportedly created accounts, funded them and placed wagers while indicating they were located in Australia. Data cited by regulators showed nearly 1.9m visits to the platform from Australian users over a six-month period in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities raised concerns that Polymarket offered in-play betting on live sporting events, a form of wagering that is restricted even for licensed Australian operators. Polymarket\u2019s operator, Adventure One QSS Inc., was notified of ACMA\u2019s preliminary findings but did not respond before the investigation concluded. The platform later introduced measures to restrict Australian users after being blocked, a move regulators interpreted as an acknowledgement of the ruling.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t\t\tSee also:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tSee also:<\/span> Regulator investigates after unlicensed gambling sites use Australian Open to promote offerings<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The ACMA’s investigation concluded that prediction markets do not qualify as financial trading tools.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":680,"featured_media":777028002,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has classified prediction market platforms, exemplified by Polymarket, as illegal gambling rather than legitimate financial trading tools. This ruling, based on a lack of financial product criteria and the presence of prohibited wagering features, mandates licensing under the Interactive Gambling Act and has led to Polymarket's blacklisting in Australia. This decision sets a critical precedent for the rapidly evolving prediction market sector, impacting regulatory compliance and operational frameworks.","focusai_entities":"Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), Polymarket, Adventure One QSS Inc.","focusai_location":"Australia","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (1.0), operator_casino (0.9), affiliate_publisher (0.7), product_ux (0.7), tech_data (0.7), marketing_crm (0.7), payments_fraud_aml (0.8), investor_analyst (0.9), supplier_vendor (0.7), journalist_researcher (0.95)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Global Regulatory Impact","query":"How might ACMA's classification of prediction markets as illegal gambling influence similar regulatory interpretations and enforcement actions in other key iGaming jurisdictions globally?"},{"label":"Operator Compliance Strategy","query":"What specific modifications to product design, operational frameworks, and licensing strategies would be required for a prediction market operator to achieve regulatory compliance within Australia or similar jurisdictions?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16336,439],"tags":[6093,289,20326,25120],"class_list":["post-777037907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australasia-news","category-legal-news","tag-acma","tag-australia","tag-illegal-gambling","tag-polymarket"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777037907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/680"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777037907"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777037907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777037918,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777037907\/revisions\/777037918"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777028002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777037907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777037907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777037907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}