Petition has been filed in the appropriate legal channels after regulator ordered ISPs to block access to Polymarket’s website in France
Prediction market platform Polymarket has filed a petition in France to challenge the gambling regulator’s recent decision to block its website.
Gambling regulator l’Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ) ordered French internet service providers (ISPs) to block access to Polymarket last month, after repeated warnings that prediction market platforms may constitute illegal gambling under French law.
Polymarket said that this unilateral block prevents both those in France and French-speaking countries from accessing the “real-time insight into public sentiment, geopolitical events, and forecasting trends that our platform offers.”
“To be clear, Polymarket had already blocked trading from France in November 2024,” said the platform. “This followed a period of discussions with the ANJ and in a spirit of cooperation, access to the platform’s trading features for users located in France were restricted by implementing a geoblocking mechanism.
“No new enforcement or disciplinary measures had been undertaken by the ANJ in the intervening period. In June this year, we resumed discussion with the ANJ given additional concerns regarding the accessibility of the platform from French territory. While discussions were ongoing, the ANJ president formally served Polymarket with a cease-and-desist order to stop “promoting unauthorized gambling sites”.
“Although we disagree with the gambling authority’s action, France has demonstrated a strong commitment to financial and technological innovation, and our recent discussions with French authorities have been constructive and encouraging.”
Polymarket continues to engage with French authorities and said that it remains committed to operating in a manner that meets applicable regulatory expectations, while preserving the benefits of prediction markets for its users.