Polymarket, a blockchain-based prediction platform, faces a possible ban in France due to concerns over gambling legislation compliance.
According to a report by The Big Whale, France’s National Gaming Authority (ANJ) is investigating Polymarket’s operation and regulatory compliance. The regulator might block the platform’s domain name and “put pressure on all the players who give the platform access to the French market.”
The increased regulatory focus emerged after a trader identified as Théo reportedly wagered millions on Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, securing a $47 million gain when Trump was re-elected.
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Lawyer William O’Rorke commented:
Polymarket consists of betting money on something random; that’s strictly the definition of gambling. It’s like a sports bet. And unlike financial companies, the ANJ has the power to block the platform even though Polymarket does not specifically target French users.
However, users might still access Polymarket using virtual private networks (VPNs), as the platform requires only a cryptocurrency wallet without needing identity verification.
On November 5, the platform experienced a massive surge in activity, processing over $294 million in trading volume as participants speculated on election outcomes.
The situation is one more reminder of the friction between decentralized platforms and established regulatory systems.
In other news, Donald Trump’s return to the White House as the 47th President of the United States pushed Bitcoin to new all-time highs.
Gode is a Web3 Market Analyst who researches the most important industry events and interprets how they affect the wider Web3 space. Her formal education in media culture & digital rhetoric allows her to employ a methodical approach to evaluating critical Web3 news data, including large-scale events and the wider social sentiment within the ecosystem.Gode is a mutilingual professional, having studied in multiple universities all across Europe. This allows her to have a one-of-a-kind opportunity to analyze Web3 social sentiments spanning different cultures and languages and, in turn, develop a much deeper understanding of how the Web3 space is growing within different communities. With the rest of her team, Gode works to identify crucial crypto news patterns and provide unbiased and data-driven information.Gode’s passions include working and communicating with people, and when she’s not researching Web3 news, she spends her time traveling and watching true crime documentaries.
