The Czech Finance Ministry added Polymarket to its blacklist of unauthorized online gambling websites, requiring internet providers to block access within 15 days. The Czech Finance Ministry added Polymarket to its list of unauthorized online gambling websites on Monday, requiring internet service providers (ISP) to block access. The ministry listed the prediction market’s website under the country’s Gambling Act, which prohibits operators from offering unlicensed online gambling services to Czech users. Under the Gambling Act, ISPs must block access to websites included on the ministry’s blacklist within 15 days of publication of the name. Read more
South Korea’s media and communications review body will hear from Polymarket before deciding whether to issue a corrective request against the prediction market platform. South Korea’s media and communications review body said it will hear from Polymarket before deciding whether to take corrective action against the prediction market platform. On Monday, the Broadcasting, Media and Communications Review Committee said it would allow Polymarket to submit its position before making a final decision on a corrective request regarding gambling concerns. “We decided to provide an opportunity for Polymarket to submit its opinion to thoroughly verify the legality of Polymarket and the way the service is operated,” the committee said, according to a machine translation of the press release. Read more
New data from Allium suggests that US users are bypassing geoblocks to bet on markets offered on Polymarket’s global platform. US-based users are the biggest political bettors on Polymarket, despite the crypto-based prediction market’s efforts to restrict US citizens from using the decentralized platform, according to new research. Blockchain research firm Allium estimated in a report published on Thursday that US-based users are the single biggest political market of any country by contracts traded and wallet count on Polymarket — not to be confused with Polymarket US, which is a US-regulated platform that launched in December with a narrower set of markets. “Blocking access did not end US participation; it made the US the largest single political market on Polymarket by volume,” the report said. “The demand is still there, now offshore and beyond US oversight.” Read more
Senators John Curtis and Adam Schiff are concerned about the CFTC’s enforcement ability after a “troubling” report on Polymarket’s advertising. A bipartisan pair of US senators has called on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to investigate the prediction market platform Polymarket after it reportedly paid social media influencers to make videos of fake bets. Republican Senator John Curtis and Democratic Senator Adam Schiff sent a letter to CFTC Chair Mike Selig on Thursday, saying they were concerned Polymarket “used deceptive marketing tactics to promote gambling-style products to US audiences.” “If accurate, these allegations are deeply troubling and demand immediate scrutiny from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission,” they wrote. Read more
Polymarket said it contained the compromise and removed the affected dependency after attackers injected a malicious script into its frontend. A third-party vendor compromise discovered Thursday allowed attackers to inject a malicious script into Polymarket's frontend, affecting multiple users. Blockchain analyst Specter said the malicious script appeared to facilitate a phishing attack that drained an estimated $2.94 million from at least 11 Polymarket user wallets. Polymarket said on X that the compromise has been contained and that the affected dependency has been removed. It added that users would be fully refunded. Read more
South Korean police reportedly launched the country’s first illegal gambling probe into local Polymarket users amid election-betting scrutiny. South Korean police have reportedly launched the country’s first illegal gambling probe into local Polymarket users, widening regulatory scrutiny of the decentralized prediction market. The investigation is led by Gangwon Provincial Police and was requested by the National Police Agency, according to ChosunBiz. Users may face fines of up to 10 million won ($6,500) under Article 246 of the Criminal Act covering gambling and habitual gambling. Under current law, Sports Toto is the state-authorized sports betting platform, while unauthorized online betting can be prosecuted under South Korean gambling laws. Read more
A Polymarket contract on whether Strategy sold Bitcoin by May 31 resolved to no after traders disputed how the sale should count. A disputed Polymarket contract on whether Strategy sold Bitcoin by May 31 resolved to “No” after two dispute rounds, despite Strategy later disclosing that it sold 32 BTC during the market’s covered window. UMA Optimistic Oracle (UMA) token holders voted to settle the market in “no” following a second resolution cycle that closed at 12:34 am UTC on Thursday, blockchain data shows. An overwhelming 98.6% of the 607 participants voted for the market to resolve in “no,” while only 1.4% voted “yes,” data from Betmoar shows. Read more
Polymarket executive Josh Stevens said identity checks apply only to early beta access and are not being added to Polymarket’s existing platform. Polymarket’s vice president of engineering, Josh Stevens, clarified that the prediction market platform is not adding mandatory Know Your Customer (KYC) checks to its existing service, after a report said the company had considered user verification requirements. Stevens said in an X response that Polymarket is launching a new beta product for a select group of users and that KYC is required only to access the beta during its early test period. “No KYC is being added to any part of existing polymarket.com with this launch,” Stevens wrote. He said that once the product is out of beta, no KYC will be required to use it. He later addressed questions about whether KYC could be added later, saying “no” and clarifying that he was “just highlighting” that identity checks are tied to early access for a new beta product rather than a broader move away from pseudonymous trad...
The predictions market operator reportedly explored mandatory user verification requirements, breaking from its policies of allowing traders to access its services using pseudonyms. Prediction markets platform Polymarket is reportedly considering measures to verify users in response to pressure from global authorities over sanctions violations and other areas of legal risk to the company. According to a Wednesday report by The Information, Polymarket has considered mandatory user verification requirements more in line with Know Your Customer (KYC) standards. The move comes as multiple countries have blocked or restricted access to the predictions market platform over concerns about illegal gambling. Source: Polymarket Read more