Another country, blocked Polymarkets

[Patikno]

India cracks down on prediction markets: Polymarket goes dark, Kalshi could be next
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/05/22/india-cracks-down-on-prediction-markets-polymarket-goes-dark-kalshi-could-be-next
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has reportedly already issued a blocking order for Polymarket and is preparing a similar order for U.S.-regulated rival Kalshi. Indian authorities classify prediction markets as prohibited online money gaming.

Almost all countries are seeing prediction markets as gambling sites. In the United States, many states have sused few prediction markets like Kalshi which we know about.

It seems, that all countries that oppose gambling will soon block Polymarket, and the reason is; because, they consider prediction markets to be gambling. My country, Indonesia, has also blocked the Polymarket platform website, citing the government assessment; that the platform resembles online gambling practices.

Reference : www.cnnindonesia.com - Komdigi Blocks Polymarket, a Gambling Site Disguised as a 'Prediction Market' (You need "Bahasa" to "English" translation to read it)

Furthermore, several countries have also blocked the platform, according to sources I have read above, and several others have implemented access restrictions. Oddly enough, my country government hasn't blocked other similar platforms, such as Kalshi, which the OP mentioned. Maybe, PolyMarket is already a large prediction market, so, the government is only focusing on that platform.

Well, I don't know if blocking the site will be effective or not, but I think anyone can still access it by using a proxy, or a VPN.

[blomen]

i’m still very surprised that polymarket hasn’t been banned in my country, turkey, to this day. in our country, platforms like this don’t have much influence on social media, and they aren’t widespread among ordinary people. but people are used to using cryptocurrency and gambling, so i would have expected them to embrace this as well. while polymarket is a great idea, i think it’s normal for governments to take measures against their illegal use.

polymarket offers such a wide range of betting options that some countries are right to be cautious about it.

[Nwada001]

For countries that don't like gambling and don't support it in the first place, banning prediction markets won't look surprising to me, but for others, I can easily say the type of events that they deploy and make available for betting on in the market contributes highly to how they are being treated, and while there is a push for banning it, especially with the rumors of insider getting involved.

[Renampun]

Almost all countries are seeing prediction markets as gambling sites. In the United States, many states have sused few prediction markets like Kalshi which we know about.

My country also recently banned Polymarket, calling it a crypto-based gambling site because it involves betting and speculating on uncertain outcomes, which is against the law here that prohibits gambling entirely. I think more countries will follow suit, as each country has its own laws governing gambling.. while some argue that Polymarket isn't strictly gambling because it uses a market-based mechanism, often considered a prediction market, its mechanism is essentially similar to betting, and that's why many countries will regulate its operations.

[Findingnemo]

Prediction market is not different than sports betting, the only difference is people bet on world events not just in sports so categorizing it as a gambling site is fine and when a country bans gambling already then prediction markets also will fall under the same category. This ban will affect the polymarket? I doubt it, even though the country got highest number of population.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

India cracks down on prediction markets: Polymarket goes dark, Kalshi could be next
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/05/22/india-cracks-down-on-prediction-markets-polymarket-goes-dark-kalshi-could-be-next
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has reportedly already issued a blocking order for Polymarket and is preparing a similar order for U.S.-regulated rival Kalshi. Indian authorities classify prediction markets as prohibited online money gaming.

Almost all countries are seeing prediction markets as gambling sites. In the United States, many states have sused few prediction markets like Kalshi which we know about.

And I am curious to know if there are people who thinks or believe that prediction markets aren't gambling site, I mean what exactly is the difference between a prediction market and a gambling casino where we could predict the possible out come of a match by placing a bet on what we think will be the outcome of the match?

I don't know why this countries are banning prediction markets, cus I personally feel that if normal gambling casinos are allowed to operate in this same countries, then they should allow prediction markets to operate as well, all the market will have to do is acquire the necessary and required licenses that will allow them to operate in that country peacefully.
But on the other hand, if casinos operated normally in India, then I won't be surprised if the ban turns out to be a secret attack from casinos that feel allowing the market to operate in the country will cost them their users.

[Alphakilo]

Almost all countries are seeing prediction markets as gambling sites. In the United States, many states have sused few prediction markets like Kalshi which we know about.

My country also recently banned Polymarket, calling it a crypto-based gambling site because it involves betting and speculating on uncertain outcomes, which is against the law here that prohibits gambling entirely. I think more countries will follow suit, as each country has its own laws governing gambling.. while some argue that Polymarket isn't strictly gambling because it uses a market-based mechanism, often considered a prediction market, its mechanism is essentially similar to betting, and that's why many countries will regulate its operations.

The Polymarket is quite different from Kalshi in that while Kalshi is trying to be law abiding by following regulations, the Polymarket is decentralized and can remain so irrespective of whatever ban the government tries to impose.
Right now, the ban on the predictions market is based on how the government of your country perceives it and that's the case with India, because some fear it influences election results and other results of bets people make on it through insider information.

[Agbamoni]

What is stopping them from blocking access to Polyarmarket, Kalsi, and some other ones in my country? Like, I dislike the prediction market a lot. It is ruining the term "betting."

India has taken a good step. The Philippines first to take the step; soon, more countries will follow. There is a pattern in developing countries in Asia. I believe the goal is to save the poor masses from falling into the hands of the prediction market.

[Churchillvv]

Snip

Look, regarding Polimarket, I don't think they did any harm, at the beginning it was a nice system
then afterwards I'm sure politicians and others infiltrated, betting on the start of the war or kidnapping of presidents knowing everything
understand that this is not good, it's a scam

I think I see some sense in what your saying, prediction markets where good overall but when it got too political then it became a bad thing in the eyes of the politicians since it’s going to expose some of their next moves and some of them are going to give out insider information which could jeopardize some missions. But overall betting is not bad but some events are not supposed to be bet on or gambled about.

[Mia Chloe]

~snip

Well I think they are scared it's a trace to confidential information that they don't want made public. If you observe closely you'll notice everything became intense since the last one where someone predicted the capture of someone important I think and he was spot on correct, plus these kinda incentives have been flying around.

I think the best they can do is actually try to control it which is basically similar to what they are doing now by trying to ban them but in reality they'll always be around but less popular.

[terrific]

Almost all countries are seeing prediction markets as gambling sites. I

Because they actually are.
These countries that are blocking them might only want one thing and that's to get licensed from these countries.
I remember the scenario of Binance when they get blocked for some reasons, and that's because they're earning from their citizens while not being licensed.
I guess that's the only thing that they need to do for them to be allowed to operate into these countries that blocked their operations.

[Clement Kaliyar]

The Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has threatened legal action against any VPN service provider that gives people access to prohibited gambling platforms and prediction markets. Defaulters of this directive could face imprisonment and a fine.

In order to enforce this rule, authorities must monitor all network traffic. However, what happens if a user chooses a VPN that doesn't keep logs. Whether these providers comply with these notifications remains to be seen.

It is not hard to overcome these restrictions, unless someone is stupid enough to advertise their activities in social media, it is difficult for the authorities to identify them, if you won an insane amount of money, then it might be a problem.

[memehunter]

Indian authorities classify prediction markets as prohibited online money gaming.

Not only prediction markets but government has a hostile attitude towards crypto in general too.
I can only laugh at our law makers. They did the same thing with poker (a completely skill based game without any doubt). Governments (specially where politicians are uncompetitive) want to ban everything which they don't understand. Everyone knows how big is the illegal betting phenomena is in India. I still remember there was no celebrity left back than who was not promoting dream 11  .


       

[boyptc]

With odds prediction markets they're listing including the wars, I guess that's one to consider why they'll need to get blocked by the government.

They don't like what's being on the table to bet for by the people. While the actual ones in the misery and dealing with wars are having a hard time not knowing that they're being bet for entertainment to have fun and have some money.

That's just one of the many cases and could be the reason aside from understanding that it's an actual gamble by whoever filters it in each governments.

[AVE5]

Almost all countries are seeing prediction markets as gambling sites.

Not just the authorities that have that insight but even some of those participating in the prediction markets including some of us here in the forum who gambles MAY have similar opinion.
But come to think of it, gambling has to do with prediction and betting or staking of values with the expectations to make profits.
The difference I can figure in-between is that we assume gambling to be wagering activities featuring games of chance while prediction markets feature real-time events such as social, economy and sport events. The prediction markets could also be described as trading market because you're betting on future events outcome.
So as long they're all classified as betting, they may have common relationship to possess similar characters.

[freedomgo]

With odds prediction markets they're listing including the wars, I guess that's one to consider why they'll need to get blocked by the government.

They are probably doing it because they know they can benefit from big money coming in. This is already war between country to country, so what if those countries are also betting on each side? That could become a massive amount of money, and those with insider information would have a big advantage, especially if it involves powerful countries.

For instance, what if the US or people connected to big countries place bets on that kind of market, especially since Polymarket has a huge market already. That is not just normal betting anymore.

So I think it is only right that countries start banning this kind of platform, because this is no longer just a game. It becomes greed for money, and instead of promoting peace, the platform could end up encouraging people to profit from war.

[Orpichukwu]

Prediction market is not different than sports betting, the only difference is people bet on world events not just in sports so categorizing it as a gambling site is fine and when a country bans gambling already then prediction markets also will fall under the same category. This ban will affect the polymarket? I doubt it, even though the country got highest number of population.

But countries treat gambling and prediction markets differently; as long as they allow trading to some extent, prediction markets also fall under the same category. What they should do is regulate the type of events that are allowed and which ones are not allowed to be offered to their citizens for placing their bets on.

And every country's market is important to a company no matter how big they are, especially now that many countries are also making moves to ban and restrict most of this prediction market from their country.

[ingiltere]

It's not a bad thing that they're doing this in my opinion. When you consider how vulnerable these sites are to manipulation, it's only natural for governments to impose restrictions on such an unregulated market. I'm not defending censorship but anyone who looks at what these sites allow knows that governments won't turn a blind eye to it. Once a site grows large enough, they step in to curb it. Polymarket has also fallen victim to this. If Kalshi is next, I won't be surprised.

[fullfitlarry]

It's not a bad thing that they're doing this in my opinion. When you consider how vulnerable these sites are to manipulation, it's only natural for governments to impose restrictions on such an unregulated market. I'm not defending censorship but anyone who looks at what these sites allow knows that governments won't turn a blind eye to it. Once a site grows large enough, they step in to curb it. Polymarket has also fallen victim to this. If Kalshi is next, I won't be surprised.

Exactly, and it's coming down hard on Polymarket and their days are numbered now. Unless they really go under regulations to prevent those kind of manipulation thru insider trading. If they chooses to stay on their ground then I don't think that they are going to survived.

There are a lot of States in the US as well that are looking for Kalshi the same as they are scrutinizing Polymarket. So I do agree that this two or either one of them might not last that long in the prediction market space.

[viljy]

The prohibitions in many countries are understandable. Polymarket does not want to identify itself as a gambling platform. After all, then you will have to pay a lot for legalization in various jurisdictions. Let's see how this integration of prediction markets into the economy will develop in general.

Because this is a completely new industry, it already has a lot of money and an even greater prospect for growth. In fact, prediction markets are the inevitable outcome of financial speculative capitalism - the transformation of a speculative economy directly into a casino, without any disguise.