Polymarket access restricted in France amid gambling compliance review

Source: Crypto Briefing

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Polymarket has halted trading services in France following reports of an investigation by the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) into the platform’s compliance with French gambling laws.

While French IP addresses can still access the website, trading functions are now blocked, according to Grégory Raymond from The Big Whale, which first reported ANJ’s investigation.

🔴 Info @TheBigWhale_

Comme nous le révélions il y a 2 semaines, @Polymarket n’est désormais plus accessible depuis la France 🇫🇷

On ne peut plus placer de paris

Un vœu pieux, car j’ai réussi à en placer un grâce à un VPN pic.twitter.com/7YMXV6dafy

— Grégory Raymond 🐳 (@gregory_raymond) November 22, 2024

The regulatory scrutiny was triggered after a French trader, known as Théo, placed over $30 million in bets on Donald Trump’s winning chances in the 2024 US presidential election. Following Trump’s victory, Théo stood to gain nearly $80 million from his bets.

“Even if Polymarket uses cryptocurrencies in its operations, it remains a betting activity and this is not legal in France,” said a source close to the ANJ, which oversees all forms of gambling in the country.

Polymarket, which launched in 2020, has raised $74 million from venture capital funds and crypto figures, including Ethereum co-designer Vitalik Buterin. The platform saw $3.2 billion in bets placed on the US presidential election and recorded $294 million in trading volume on November 5 alone.

The platform is already restricted in the US following a $1.4 million settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in early 2022 for operating as an unregistered trading platform. The agreement included ceasing operations for US residents and citizens.

Neither Polymarket nor the ANJ provided immediate comment on the situation.

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Author: Vivian Nguyen