Polymarket, the gambling site that turns anything into gambling, freezes new bets from French users

Polymarket, a gambling platform that bet on the results of the US presidential election and saw 450 million yen move on voting day alone, has been found to have blocked French users from placing new bets. It has been reported that the French gambling regulator (Autorité de régulation des jeux: ANJ) plans to ban access from within the country.

Polymarket blocks French users amid regulatory scrutiny over $80 million Trump election bet | The Block

Polymarket bans French users but still can't stop VPNs
https://protos.com/polymarket-bans-french-users-but-still-cant-stop-vpns/

Polymarket is a platform where any genre can be a gambling topic and users can bet using virtual currency. Most recently, the 2024 US presidential election was the subject of betting, and it is estimated that a total of 567 billion yen was moved.

However, France has a strong grip on online gambling, and the regulator ANJ has launched an investigation, stating that Polymarket constitutes online gambling even if it uses virtual currency.

French regulators plan to ban access to 'Polymarket,' a platform that allows users to bet on anything - GIGAZINE

It has now emerged that French users on Polymarket are unable to place new bets, with a spokesperson explaining that while they can still access the platform and receive important notifications, new transactions have been halted for the time being.

Journalist Gregory Raymond confirmed that new bets could not be placed from France, but reported that it was possible to place bets by using a VPN.

🔴 Info @TheBigWhale_

Comme nous le révélions il ya 2 semaines, @Polymarket n'est désortais accessible plus depuis la France 🇫🇷

On ne peut plus placer de paris

Un vœu pieux, car j'ai réussi à en placer un grâce à un VPN pic.twitter.com/7YMXV6dafy

— Grégory Raymond 🐳 (@gregory_raymond) November 22, 2024

There have been reports in the past that it is possible to access Polymarket from countries and regions where access is blocked, such as the United States, by using a VPN, and it appears that this issue has not yet been addressed.