South Korea Bans Polymarket, Citing Its Winner-Take-All Structure

South Korea ordered domestic access to Polymarket blocked, citing violations of the country’s Criminal Act and National Sports Promotion Act over gambling concerns.

The Korea Communications Commission announced the decision on Tuesday, after consulting with police and gambling regulators, ordering internet providers to cut off access nationwide.

Why South Korea Ordered the Block

Gambling is illegal for South Korean citizens, with the Criminal Act imposing fines of up to roughly $7,000 for offenders. That law now applies directly to Polymarket’s operations in the country.

The commission said Polymarket constitutes information that facilitates gambling or provides a venue for it, as well as activities resembling sports betting under the National Sports Promotion Act.

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Regulators consulted the National Police Agency, the National Gambling Control Commission, and the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation before finalizing the block. Those agencies concluded that Polymarket’s operations could constitute an unlicensed gambling venue under existing law.

The commission argued that Polymarket’s structure inherently encourages gambling. It said the winner-take-all format makes financial outcomes heavily dependent on events users cannot control, such as politics, sports, and weather.

Regulators also pointed to Korea-specific betting markets as evidence that the platform targets local users. They specifically cited a listing on Seoul rainfall totals for August.

What Polymarket Does and How It Pushed Back

Polymarket lets users trade on real-world outcomes, from elections and World Cup matches to central bank decisions and geopolitical events, with transactions running through cryptocurrency.

One case drew particular attention earlier this year. A US soldier reportedly used classified information in January to win more than $400,000 betting on the raid to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Polymarket pushed back during a July 6 hearing. The company said it had removed its Korean-language service and does not accept payments in Korean won, arguing that those changes place it outside the relevant communications law.

The platform also argued that it does not directly hold user funds or issue betting tickets, meaning it should not meet the legal threshold for gambling violations.

Regulators rejected both arguments. They said companies cannot avoid Korean law simply by relying on technical features such as language availability or currency support.

South Korea now joins more than 30 jurisdictions restricting Polymarket over similar gambling concerns. France and Argentina already block access to the platform, part of a broader pattern of regulatory pushback worldwide.

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The post South Korea Bans Polymarket, Citing Its Winner-Take-All Structure appeared first on BeInCrypto.