{"id":777046389,"date":"2026-08-19T09:06:59","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T12:06:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777046389"},"modified":"2026-08-19T09:31:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T12:31:01","slug":"south-korea-classifies-polymarket-as-illegal-gambling-platform-orders-block","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/south-korea-classifies-polymarket-as-illegal-gambling-platform-orders-block","title":{"rendered":"South Korea orders block on Polymarket"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South Korean regulators said the platform\u2019s prediction markets could amount to illegal gambling under local law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

South Korea.- Internet service providers in South Korea have been ordered to block access to Polymarket<\/strong> after regulators determined that the prediction market platform facilitates unlicensed gambling. The Korea Communications Standards Commission<\/strong> approved the measure following consultations with the National Police Agency, National Gambling Control Commission and Korea Sports Promotion Foundation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The agencies reportedly concluded that Polymarket\u2019s operations could amount to gambling or the provision of a gambling venue. The commission also pointed to markets linked to South Korea, including one predicting rainfall in Seoul during August, as evidence that the platform offers betting tied to local events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision follows a regulatory review that began in May. In July, the regulator gave the platform an opportunity<\/a> to present its position before deciding whether enforcement action was warranted. Around the same period, police in Gangwon Province opened an investigation into Polymarket users over suspected illegal gambling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a July 6 hearing, Polymarket argued that South Korean law should not apply to its service because it had removed its Korean-language interface and did not accept payments in Korean won. It also said its peer-to-peer system uses non-custodial smart contracts and does not directly hold users\u2019 funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regulators rejected the arguments, maintaining that the platform\u2019s technical structure and service configuration do not remove its obligations under South Korean law. The commission also considered Polymarket\u2019s involvement in creating markets, setting trading rules, processing transactions and earning fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Korea\u2019s Criminal Act prohibits gambling and provides for a fine of up to 10 million won, equivalent to about $7,000, for the offence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision places South Korea among more than 30 jurisdictions that have restricted access to Polymarket, including Brazil, Australia and the United Kingdom<\/strong>, as regulators in several markets continue to examine whether prediction platforms should be treated as gambling services.<\/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> South Korea voluntary reporting programme records 806 youth gambling cases in two months<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Korean regulators said the platform\u2019s prediction markets could amount to illegal gambling under local law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2395,"featured_media":777043140,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"South Korean regulators have ordered internet service providers to block Polymarket, deeming its prediction market operations as unlicensed gambling under local law. This decision, following a multi-agency review, highlights the jurisdictional challenges and regulatory scrutiny faced by novel decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, particularly concerning the classification of prediction markets as gaming verticals. The ruling underscores a global trend of increased regulatory enforcement against platforms perceived to facilitate unregulated betting, irrespective of their technical architecture or payment mechanisms.","focusai_entities":"Polymarket, Korea Communications Standards Commission, National Police Agency, National Gambling Control Commission, Korea Sports Promotion Foundation","focusai_location":"South Korea, Seoul, Gangwon Province, Brazil, Australia, United Kingdom","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (1.0), operator_casino (0.8), tech_data (0.7), payments_fraud_aml (0.7), investor_analyst (0.9), supplier_vendor (0.7), journalist_researcher (1.0)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Cross-Jurisdictional Precedent?","query":"What are the implications of South Korea's ruling on Polymarket for other jurisdictions currently evaluating the regulatory status of prediction markets, particularly regarding the legal interpretation of decentralized, non-custodial platforms as gambling services?"},{"label":"DeFi Regulatory Impact?","query":"How might this regulatory decision in South Korea influence the development and adoption of other decentralized finance (DeFi) applications that incorporate elements of prediction or betting, and what governance frameworks might emerge to address these concerns?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16338,154],"tags":[20326,337,152],"class_list":["post-777046389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-east-asia-news","category-legislation-news","tag-illegal-gambling","tag-regulation","tag-south-korea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777046389","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\/2395"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777046389"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777046389\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777046396,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777046389\/revisions\/777046396"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777043140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777046389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777046389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777046389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}