South Korean Regulator Orders Domestic Access Block on Polymarket

South Korea’s Broadcasting, Media and Communications Review Committee has decided to block domestic access to overseas prediction-market platform Polymarket after determining that it promotes gambling.

The regulator said in a statement on Aug. 18 that its communications review subcommittee found Polymarket contains information that aids gambling or is intended to facilitate the opening of gambling venues under the criminal code, as well as information intended for “similar acts” under the National Sports Promotion Act. It therefore approved a corrective order requiring access to be blocked.

The committee had decided last month to hear Polymarket’s position at a subcommittee meeting. After confirming the company’s arguments on Aug. 18, it made the final decision to block access.

The regulator said Polymarket’s winner-takes-all profit structure could encourage gambling behavior because users’ gains and losses are determined by outcomes of events they cannot control, including politics, the economy, international relations, sports, elections and weather.

It also concluded that Polymarket’s operator runs and manages the platform overall, including creating markets and setting trading rules, while providing digital-asset deposit, withdrawal and settlement systems. In the committee’s view, that creates an environment in which user funds are effectively collected and paid out.

Polymarket argued that it is not subject to South Korea’s Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection because it has removed Korean-language services and does not support payments in won, according to the statement.

The committee rejected that argument, saying companies cannot evade the application of South Korean law based on whether they offer Korean-language services or on technical characteristics or service models such as decentralized or centralized technology.

It added that blocking access was unavoidable to protect domestic users because the platform effectively provides an illegal gambling environment to South Korean users by offering locally tailored topics such as “Seoul rainfall in August” under a winner-takes-all profit structure driven by chance.

South Korea is not alone in restricting access to Polymarket. France, Australia and Germany have also blocked access to the platform.