The country’s gambling authority ordered ISPs to block access to the prediction market’s website.
France is doubling down on preventative measures for its citizens trying to access Polymarket. The Autorité Nationale Des Jeux (ANJ), the country's independent regulatory authority in charge of licensed gambling and betting games, announced this week that it ordered internet service providers to block access to Polymarket.
The ANJ's latest decision follows its previous regulatory action from November 2024 that placed a geoblock on any financial transactions from French residents on the Polymarket website. Despite this ban on transactions, the agency said that the platform continued to grow in France thanks to users circumventing the block. According to ANJ, Polymarket saw 578,751 visits, 205,057 of which were unique visits, in the month of June from French residents. Now the ANJ wants to crack down harder on Polymarket, again emphasizing that the platform is considered an illegal gambling site.
According to the ANJ's latest move, anyone caught advertising an unauthorized betting or gambling site could be fined up to 100,000 euros, or around $114,000. In the neighboring Spain, the government also ordered to block access to both Polymarket and Kalshi while it investigates if these sites break the country's gambling laws. In the US, Minnesota passed a bill that bans prediction markets from operating in the state, while other states are filing lawsuits against Polymarket and Kalshi.
Facts Only
* The Autorité Nationale Des Jeux (ANJ) ordered ISPs to block access to Polymarket.
* The ANJ previously placed a geoblock on financial transactions from French residents on the Polymarket website in November 2024.
* Polymarket saw 578,751 visits and 205,057 unique visits from French residents in June.
* The ANJ seeks to crack down harder on Polymarket because it considers the platform illegal gambling.
* The ANJ threatened fines of up to 100,000 euros (approximately $114,000) for advertising unauthorized betting or gambling sites.
* The government in Spain ordered blocking access to Polymarket and Kalshi pending investigation into local gambling laws.
* Minnesota passed a bill banning prediction markets from operating within the state.
* Other U.S. states are filing lawsuits against Polymarket and Kalshi.
Executive Summary
Full Take
The sequence of regulatory action demonstrates a decentralized, escalating response to digital prediction markets that exist outside traditional legal frameworks. The initial move by the ANJ established a precedent for national control over financial transactions related to these platforms, followed by a public acknowledgment that circumvention occurs, necessitating a shift to blocking access itself. This pattern—from transaction restriction to access blockage—suggests an emerging systemic tension between digital market innovation and state regulatory jurisdiction. The parallel actions in Spain, Minnesota, and other U.S. states indicate that this is not an isolated French issue but part of a broader, fragmented global effort to impose legal boundaries on speculative digital assets.
The focus shifts from policing specific transactions to controlling access to the venue itself, reflecting a paradigm shift where the platform's existence is being contested as inherently illicit. This creates significant ambiguity regarding jurisdiction and enforcement, raising questions about which regulatory bodies hold authority when an entity operates seamlessly across borders while asserting its legality through user circumvention. The implication is that control over digital public goods requires defining what constitutes an "illegal gambling site" at a sufficient scale to warrant comprehensive jurisdictional action, rather than piecemeal legal challenges.
What mechanisms exist for harmonizing these disparate national prohibitions against cross-border digital operations? How does the principle of cognitive sovereignty apply when market activity occurs across borders but is policed by disparate national authorities? What are the long-term consequences when regulatory fragmentation forces platforms to constantly adapt their operational presence to evade jurisdiction?
Sentinel — Human
This appears to be a factual news report synthesizing regulatory actions across France, Spain, and the US concerning prediction markets, exhibiting characteristics of standard journalistic reporting rather than purely synthetic generation.