South Korea Orders Polymarket Blocked Over Illegal Gambling

South Korea's media standards regulator ordered domestic internet providers to block Polymarket on Aug. 18, ruling that the prediction market amounts to illegal gambling under the country's Criminal Act.

The telecommunications review subcommittee of the Korea Media and Communications Standards Commission found the site also breaches the National Sports Promotion Act, which bans products imitating the country's licensed sports betting pools.

Korean money had already reached the platform in volume. Nearly 70 billion won ($50 million) passed through a single market on the Seoul mayoral race around the June 3 local elections.

Commission Rejects the Smart-Contract Defense

Polymarket told the commission it had removed its Korean-language service and does not accept payments in won, according to Newsis. It argued that its non-custodial, peer-to-peer design leaves it outside Korean law, because it neither holds user funds nor issues betting tickets.

The commission rejected each argument.

Regardless of whether a service is decentralized or centralized, its technological characteristics and service methods cannot exempt it from the application of domestic laws.

That finding was reported by The Korea Times. Members said the winner-take-all payout structure encourages speculation because gains and losses hinge on events users cannot control, including elections, sports and weather. They cited markets on domestic subjects such as August rainfall in Seoul as evidence the site was serving Korean users directly.

Korean Users Still Face Gambling Investigations

The review opened after referrals from the National Police Agency and the National Gambling Control Commission, and the commission granted Polymarket a hearing on July 6. Police in Gangwon Province had begun summoning users in late May on suspicion of gambling, an offense that can bring fines and confiscation of winnings.

France, Germany and Australia have already restricted access to Polymarket on comparable grounds, according to multiple industry reports. FairGambling covered Washington state's block on Kalshi, where a federal preemption defense failed.

Internet providers are expected to route the block in the days after the order. Police have announced no charging decisions, and authorities have not established how many Koreans used the site.