The Czech Republic has become the latest European country to move against Polymarket, classifying the platform as unauthorized gambling and ordering internet service providers to cut off access within 15 days. The Czech Finance Ministry added Polymarket to its list of unauthorized online gaming services on July 13, extending a broader European push against the prediction market platform.
Jan Řehola, head of the country’s gambling regulator, said legal gambling systems allow authorities to know who operates, who participates, and which bets may be suspicious. He said prediction markets may look different in form, but in practice can take wagers on nearly any event, including weather, political decisions, and even security operations, without equivalent oversight.
Czech regulators said several EU countries have already restricted or blocked the platform in recent months. Pressure increased again this month after Italy restored Polymarket to its blocking list and the Netherlands rejected the platform’s appeal. Separately, the European Securities and Markets Authority warned this month that event contracts meeting the definition of financial instruments fall under existing binary options rules and cannot be sold to retail investors. Not all jurisdictions are moving the same way: Gibraltar this week introduced what it described as the world’s first dedicated framework for prediction markets, while Malta said it is exploring a similar system.
BlockBeats reported on July 15 that the Czech Republic has become the latest European country to block Polymarket on the grounds of “unauthorized gambling.”
The Czech Finance Ministry added the platform to its List of Unauthorized Online Games on July 13. Local internet service providers have been told to cut off access to the site within 15 days.
Jan Řehola, head of the Czech gambling regulator, said that in a legal gambling system, the state knows who is operating, who is participating, and which bets may be suspicious. He said prediction markets may differ in form, but they can in substance open betting on almost any event, including weather, political decisions and security operations, while lacking matching oversight.
Czech regulators also said several EU countries have restricted or blocked the platform in recent months, with pressure increasing again this month. Italy has put Polymarket back on its blocking list, and the Netherlands has rejected the platform’s appeal.
The European Securities and Markets Authority, or ESMA, also warned this month that event contracts meeting the definition of financial instruments are already covered by existing binary options rules and are banned from being sold to retail investors.
At the same time, some jurisdictions are taking a different route. Gibraltar this week introduced what it described as the world’s first regulatory framework dedicated to prediction markets, separating the sector from general gambling law and allowing it to operate under licenses. Malta has also said it is exploring a similar system.
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