France orders country's internet service providers to block Polymarket

France’s gambling regulator, the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), has ordered the country's internet service providers to block access to Polymarket, classifying the platform as an illegal gambling site rather than a financial trading platform. This decision, made on July 16, 2026, follows concerns that Polymarket's operations involve addictive mechanics, lack self-exclusion tools, and attract a significant number of French users circumventing prior financial restrictions.

The ANJ noted that despite a ban on financial transactions with Polymarket that began in November 2024, the platform still recorded 578,751 visits from 205,057 unique French users in June 2026, according to Similarweb data. Users were able to bypass the restrictions using VPNs, and the site’s homepage remained accessible to display real-time odds for various markets, which the ANJ viewed as unauthorized promotion of gambling services. The regulator highlighted legal consequences, including fines of up to 100,000 euros (approximately $114,380).

This enforcement followed several controversies, including a complaint from Météo-France over tampering with a temperature sensor linked to weather-related bets on Polymarket, resulting in a cybercrime investigation. Additionally, the ANJ referenced a French trader known as "Fredi9999," who influenced U.S. election market odds with multimillion-dollar trades in 2024. The regulator’s stricter position began in February 2026 when prediction markets were officially reclassified as illegal gambling in France.

France now joins over 30 other countries that have imposed similar restrictions on Polymarket. These include Switzerland, Poland, Singapore, Belgium, Portugal, and Spain, among others, which have raised concerns over the platform’s legality and impact. The growing international response reflects increasing scrutiny of prediction markets like Polymarket, especially regarding regulatory classification and consumer protection measures. Polymarket did not immediately respond to requests for comment from CoinDesk.