Polymarket says its main prediction market platform is not adding mandatory KYC. The clarification came from vice president of engineering Josh Stevens, who said on X that identity verification is limited to a new beta product being tested with a small group of users and does not affect the existing polymarket.com platform.
Stevens said that with the launch, “no KYC is being added to any part of existing polymarket.com.” He later added that the beta product would not require KYC after testing ends. Asked whether KYC could eventually become mandatory on the main platform, he answered no. The statement came less than a day after The Information reported that Polymarket had explored mandatory verification measures.
KYC clarification follows renewed questions over access controls
The company’s response lands as prediction markets face heavier compliance scrutiny. Regulators have been questioning sanctions controls, access from blocked jurisdictions and whether anonymous trading structures and geoblocking systems are enough to keep restricted users off the platform.
Polymarket’s public documentation shows that users in dozens of jurisdictions are either barred from trading or limited to closing existing positions. The company says those restrictions are tied to sanctions compliance, anti-money laundering rules and local regulatory obligations.
Jurisdictions listed as restricted include the U.S., Russia, the U.K., France, Germany, Iran and the Netherlands. In Poland, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan, users are limited to close-only activity. Japan is listed under a frontend restriction category.
Developer documents show layered controls across services
Earlier reporting from The Information said Polymarket had considered stronger identity checks as pressure increased over sanctions exposure and unofficial access paths. The report alleged that some traders in blocked markets were still reaching the platform through bots, alternative routing tools and community-organized methods that bypass standard geofencing.
In its developer documentation, Polymarket tells builders to check a geoblock endpoint before processing trades and warns that orders from restricted regions will be rejected. Separate documentation says users who complete KYC or KYB can gain access to direct co-location services in the platform’s primary server region. That does not mean the main site is moving to blanket identity verification, but it does show that verification already exists for specific service layers.
U.S. scrutiny has widened from access to trading conduct
Questions are also building around market integrity and insider trading tied to event contracts. Earlier this year, seven members of the U.S. House of Representatives asked whether the Commodity Futures Trading Commission had acted aggressively enough against suspicious trading linked to geopolitical prediction markets involving Iran and Venezuela.
Federal enforcement agencies have also pursued insider trading allegations tied directly to Polymarket activity. As previously reported, U.S. authorities charged Google software engineer Michele Spagnuolo, alleging he used confidential company information to profit from Polymarket bets connected to Google’s 2025 search trend rankings.
Pressure outside the U.S. is also increasing
Regulatory action has spread beyond the United States. In April, Brazilian authorities moved to block 27 prediction market platforms, including Polymarket and Kalshi, after saying the services were operating outside the country’s legal framework. More recently, Spain’s gambling regulator blocked local access to both platforms while legal proceedings over alleged unlicensed gambling activity continue.
Even with those restrictions, Polymarket has kept pursuing international expansion. Reports in April said the company had entered discussions with the CFTC about a possible return to the U.S. market. Separate reports in May said it was exploring entry into Japan, where gambling laws are strict.
Internal rules have already tightened. In March, Polymarket introduced stricter market-integrity policies across both its decentralized platform and its CFTC-regulated exchange operations, warning that violations could lead to account suspension, monetary penalties or referrals to law enforcement.