Indonesia blocks Polymarket after bets on president’s exit

[Oshosondy]

Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) announced the block on Friday, describing Polymarket as an “online gambling site disguised as a prediction market.

Yiu can read about it on https://cointelegraph.com/news/indonesia-blocks-polymarket-bets-presidents-exit

Is there any topic about this? The last I remember was South Korea after I brother India.

I guess more countries will ban Polymarket.

But will people in these countries will not continue to use the site because it has no KYC?

[Dunamisx]

Does blocking polymarket solve the issue, are they actually after prediction market or gambling itself, I also don't see a reason why they should assume that prediction market is the same as gambling, you have to come on the right perspective regarding this issue and face the reality on what they needed to do about pulling markets and not gambling, I'm not against them blocking polymarket, but this shouldn't be treated the same way as gambling.

[Odusko]

Does blocking polymarket solve the issue, are they actually after prediction market or gambling itself, I also don't see a reason why they should assume that prediction market is the same as gambling, you have to come on the right perspective regarding this issue and face the reality on what they needed to do about pulling markets and not gambling, I'm not against them blocking polymarket, but this shouldn't be treated the same way as gambling.

The reality you said is the reason by the government referring to polymarket as gambling because that is what it is, let us not forget th regulatory uncertainty around predictions market operations and this the reason why licensing them is becoming hard, predictions market features unique patterns of operations which combine but gambling and trading together, but unique combination is what birth all the compliance crisis we are seeing.

[panjul07]

As Indonesian, I'm not surprised to see this news because it is clear that gambling is illegal in Indonesia so even if there is no bets on president's exit, sooner or later polymarket will be blocked once more Indonesian people visit polymarket.
The bets on president's exit is just something that trigger the alarm in the Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs which is the one that responsible to block any gambling related service.
Since it is mentioning the president, it makes it faster for them to block it because the political situation in Indonesia related the performance of the government under the current president is not that good.

[Wakate]

It will be better for players to stay away from this market if they don't want to lose their money.
There has been so many complaints from different countries on how the polymarket has been extorting money from gamblers in the name of prediction which are often manipulated to make for themselves. It is very hard to become profitable from this market except you got an insider information of what will happen soon in politics.

[coin-investor]

I guess more countries will ban Polymarket.

I read the news that 2 of our telcos are banning access to Polymarket here in our country, the majority of countries, marking them as a gambling platform, so they have no choice but to change direction, but even if they are considered a gambling platform, some countries will not like how they structure their betting, no country or personality will want to be in the spotlight of the prediction market.

[TastyChillySauce00]

I can only guess Indonesian minister sees a prediction market is the same a gambling platform. So they decided to ban Polymarket just after polymarket official account itself tweeted about the possibility for Indonesian president to be impached.

As one of biggest muslim countries. It's all make sense when they decide to ban a platform that is similar to the betting platform. I see there's a sense on this decision, and i guess they were banning Poly is not because their president got mentioned in Polymarket's TL, but it's due to their regulation.
I expect more muslim countries to do the same like them.

[rdluffy]

Here in Brazil, Polymarket and other prediction markets have also been blocked
You can only access them with a VPN

What’s curious and interesting is that they blocked it right in the week there was a shift in the presidential markets here in Brazil, where the current president was overtaken by his biggest rival at the moment on Polymarket specifically

Of course, it might have just been a coincidence...
Or not, hehehe, but it was blocked anyway

[rat03gopoh]

As one of biggest muslim countries. It's all make sense when they decide to ban a platform that is similar to the betting platform.

Polymarket has been running for over 5 yrs and has gained popularity in the past 2 yrs. So it's impossible for the government to be unaware of this platform's presence.

However, from my perspective (as an Indonesian citizen), I believe this blocking is no coincidence, considering the correlation between the timing of the blocking and the betting topics that triggered it. The political game here is very aggressive, with censorship of sensitive political issues everywhere.

[Pandu Geddon]

but this shouldn't be treated the same way as gambling.

I agree that trading is different from gambling. But the prediction markets listed on Polymarket, you can see for yourself. Markets related to politics and other issues listed there certainly do not differentiate when you place a bet on sports on your favorite betting platform.

It's like betting with your friend on the color of the shirt of the first person to come out of the store.

In Indonesia, gambling is illegal. Moreover, there are betting markets related to the president, which would certainly be another reason to ban Polymarket.

[Ronsbit]

It will be better for players to stay away from this market if they don't want to lose their money.
There has been so many complaints from different countries on how the polymarket has been extorting money from gamblers in the name of prediction which are often manipulated to make for themselves. It is very hard to become profitable from this market except you got an insider information of what will happen soon in politics.

That insider information is what made me not too interested in it as it can be highly influenced and manipulated by anybody as long as that person I'd influencial and command's crowd in the space they could easily get what they want and leave the masses who had predicted the event in the shadow of themselves. There have been many instances where it was obviously clear that the outcome or event and actions were leaked by an insider involved in the operations which later went viral and was arrested. I don't think players would agree to staying away from it because some have benefited from it hugely so it would be very difficult to convince them no to continue with prediction market.

[AmoreJaz]

As one of biggest muslim countries. It's all make sense when they decide to ban a platform that is similar to the betting platform.

Polymarket has been running for over 5 yrs and has gained popularity in the past 2 yrs. So it's impossible for the government to be unaware of this platform's presence.

However, from my perspective (as an Indonesian citizen), I believe this blocking is no coincidence, considering the correlation between the timing of the blocking and the betting topics that triggered it. The political game here is very aggressive, with censorship of sensitive political issues everywhere.

Nice to hear coming from the country itself. At least, you know the political condition in your area. And as a Muslim country, I believe it is no surprise for your government to ban this prediction market even if it doesn't have the betting line of your President's exit.  And it won't be long for other countries to ban this site if they won't secure necessary licensing permit to operate as a business. Because as they amass a large amount of money, they should also take care of the legalities of their business, not only just taking money from the bettors. Considering that they are attracting bettors worldwide.

[Sandra_hakeem]

Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) announced the block on Friday, describing Polymarket as an “online gambling site disguised as a prediction market.

Yiu can read about it on https://cointelegraph.com/news/indonesia-blocks-polymarket-bets-presidents-exit

Is there any topic about this? The last I remember was South Korea after I brother India.

I guess more countries will ban Polymarket.

They all should for several reasons. The incentivization of insider knowledge that makes them a ton of money from the people(which we just found out recently), their constant denial that they're a gambling sites, but operates as one for years under zero license should fold them up. I know a lot of people are used to their services, but if actions are not taken against them, we're about to experience even more ruins among these industries.

But will people in these countries will not continue to use the site because it has no KYC?

Of course, it's not easy to go cold turkey.. Some folks can't even make their own speculations so they have to rely on these prediction markets all the time. There's still a huge possibility for a bypass.

[Chinesebaby]

Does blocking polymarket solve the issue, are they actually after prediction market or gambling itself, I also don't see a reason why they should assume that prediction market is the same as gambling, you have to come on the right perspective regarding this issue and face the reality on what they needed to do about pulling markets and not gambling,

I'm not against them blocking polymarket, but this shouldn't be treated the same way as gambling.

If you could check the tweet that was made by the Indonesian Ministry of Information and Digital Affairs on the right below, you will notice that they said Polymarket was banned for facilitating a money-based betting activities on the outcome of events that are yet to be certain, just like the prediction of when it's president will be out of office. And we all know how government officials can be very strict with implementing policies that seems to jeopardize their political legacy just as the Polymarket tweet portrays below. So it is obvious try might have categories it as same as gambling, since it offers people the ability to vote on unforeseen circumstances.

   

[rat03gopoh]

And as a Muslim country, I believe it is no surprise for your government to ban this prediction market

Don't be fooled by the population's religious affiliation; religious status is merely a supplement to identity documents. You might be surprised if I say some law enforcement officials are affiliated with bookies, but here it's no more a secret. If you see lokal news of gambling sites being blocked, it means they're either not paying their dues, or the parties backing them are too weak.

[Fiatless]

But will people in these countries will not continue to use the site because it has no KYC?

Online gambling is banned in Indonesia. But Polymarket is claiming to be a prediction market which is different from gambling based on. The company's position. The US law might not recognise it as online gambling but for me it is. So Indonesia government did the right thing to restrict them. The government didn't mention that it was because of the bet on President Prabowo Subianto but some people are speculating that it might be part of the cause.

People will try to use privacy tools to bypass these restrictions. Using a VPN to access Polymarket could lead to imprisonment in India. So gamblers would have to be careful to avoid problems.

[Oshosondy]

Online gambling is banned in Indonesia. But Polymarket is claiming to be a prediction market which is different from gambling based on. The company's position. The US law might not recognise it as online gambling but for me it is. So Indonesia government did the right thing to restrict them. The government didn't mention that it was because of the bet on President Prabowo Subianto but some people are speculating that it might be part of the cause.

In United States, there is still an ongoing argument between States and CFTC that prediction markets are gambling or trading, but we are going to know the outcome of their argument in court later as the case is in court.

Gambling is not legal in Indonesia, that is likely the reason it is banned. You can see that gambling is also not legal in South Korea, where prediction markets are under review to be banned after India. I think more countries that gambling is not legal may ban the prediction market sites.

[retreat]

Previously, when there were no bets regarding that president, the minister didn't comment on Polymarket, but once bets started on when the president would step down, that minister immediately rushed to block the site, claiming it involved gambling that violated the gambling prohibition law. We already know where this is headed.

But I think that even when they block the site, there are still more people who continue to bet that president will step down, since there's a technology called a VPN. It’s not even difficult. So I think that whether they block it or not, there will still be people betting on it.

[Ruttoshi]

This is just the beginning of countries blocking Polymarket, we will continue to see more countries block them in future because they don't want to be regulated and proclaimed that they are not a gambling site which it's clear to everyone now that Polymarket is the same thing as a gambling site. The difference is that they bet on any kind of event.

Of course, those people living in the countries that have blocked Polymarket can still access it since their government wouldn't know but you're going against the law of your government and if you're caught, you will pay for it.

[robelneo]

Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) announced the block on Friday, describing Polymarket as an “online gambling site disguised as a prediction market.

The main reason is that countries treat it as a gambling platform, so they should, but even if they did not admit it, this is one of the factors.

The ministry’s statement did not specifically reference the presidential exit prediction market, instead broadly characterizing Polymarket as a gambling platform operating in violation of Indonesian law.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/indonesia-blocks-polymarket-bets-presidents-exit.

Considering the circumstances of the president's exit, they don't want their officials or situation in their country included on this platform. It's an invitation for an insider to divulge something and monetize it, just like all the other predictions on this platform.