After weeks of rising tensions, Polymarket has decided to block users from France. This move cuts off a significant market for the popular prediction betting site.
When users in France try to access the site, they see a pop-up message. It says, “You appear to be located in the United States, France, or another related jurisdiction. Trading is not available to U.S. persons, persons located in the United States, France, or persons located in restricted jurisdictions.”
Since 2022, U.S. users have been unable to access Polymarket due to a settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Until now, France was a key market for the betting platform.
This situation might have influenced the decision. In the lead-up to the U.S. presidential election, an anonymous French user placed bets totaling $45 million on Donald Trump’s victory. This raised eyebrows and drew international attention.
After this revelation, concerns about potential insider trading on Polymarket emerged. Reports indicated that France’s national gaming regulator planned to ban the site in French territories.
Polymarket appears to have acted first by blocking all users based in France today.
We reached out to both Polymarket and France’s national gaming authority, ANJ, to find out if this action was in response to a request from the regulator or taken independently. Unfortunately, we did not receive an immediate response.
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