Nov 08, 2024 11:38:00

French regulator to ban Polymarket, a platform that allows users to bet on anything

Polymarket allows betting on anything, from the results of sports such as F1 and boxing to topics such as 'How much will Bitcoin be worth next month?', 'Which movie will record the highest box office revenue in 2024?' and 'How many hurricanes will come in 2024?'. The 2024 US presidential election saw $294 million (about

45 billion yen) move on voting day alone, attracting the attention of regulatory authorities around the world. In France, it has been reported that the Autorité de régulation des jeux (ANJ ) plans to ban access from within the country.

Exclusif. La France va interdire Polymarket
https://www.thebigwhale.io/article/exclusif-la-france-va-interdire-polymarket

France to Ban Polymarket After $3.5 Billion Bet on US Elections
https://coinpedia.org/crypto-live-news/france-to-ban-polymarket-after-3-5-billion-bet-on-us-elections/

Crypto Bets on Trump: Polymarket Examined by French Regulator ANJ - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-07/crypto-bets-on-trump-polymarket-examined-by-french-regulator-anj

Polymarket is a gambling platform that uses cryptocurrencies, and it is said that $294 million was moved on the 2024 US presidential election alone, and $3.7 billion (about 567 billion yen) was moved overall. According to Chainalysis , which tracks and analyzes cryptocurrency transactions, a user named 'Fredi999' is estimated to have made a total of $85 million (about 13 billion yen) using 11 accounts.

Although sports betting and poker betting are permitted in France, online gambling is strictly regulated and any new gambling site must receive prior approval from the ANJ.

Comment les jeux et paris en ligne ? | Ministère de l'Économie, des Finances et de l'Industrie et Ministère chargé du Budget et des Comptes publics
https://www.economie.gouv.fr/cedef/jeux-et-paris-ligne

According to the news site The Big Whale, a source close to ANJ commented, 'Even though they use cryptocurrency, what Polymarket is doing is online gambling, which is illegal in France.' In particular, it is believed that ANJ's attention was drawn to the fact that one user in France had made $19 million (about 29 billion yen).

In response to an inquiry by news site Bloomberg, an ANJ spokesperson said: 'We are aware of the existence of Polymarket and are investigating its operation and compliance with French gambling laws.'

Although Polymarket is already banned from within the United States, since creating an account does not require identification, it is possible to create separate accounts as long as you have multiple cryptocurrency wallets, and it is believed that many users use VPNs to access the site. For this reason, it has been pointed out that a similar loophole could be exploited even if access is banned in France.