- France’s National Gambling Authority (ANJ) ordered ISPs to block Polymarket, deeming prediction markets illegal gambling.
- The ANJ cited a lack of player protections and potential outcome manipulation, referencing hacked weather sensors.
- Polymarket is now geoblocked in 36 regions, and the Paris Public Prosecutor’s cybercrime unit launched an investigation in May 2026.
France’s Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ) has ordered internet service providers to block access to Polymarket, classifying prediction websites as illegal gambling in a Friday press release. The regulator stated that Polymarket’s operations are not authorized in France and that advertising such unauthorized sites is a criminal offense with fines up to $114,000.
Consequently, the ANJ argued that Polymarket’s “addictive features” lack the protective mechanisms found in the legal gambling market. The regulator also raised concerns about outcome manipulation, noting that “bets on the weather revealed that weather sensors may have been hacked.”
Meanwhile, the cybercrime unit of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into this matter in May 2026, citing a lack of identity verification. At press time, Polymarket said it was geoblocked in 36 regions, including Singapore, Brazil, and Indonesia.
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