Promotion of illegal gambling services: blocking of the Polymarket website

Since November 2024, the ANJ’s attention has been drawn to the services offered by ADVENTURE ONE QSS INC. via its websites www.polymarket.com and polymarket.com, as these may be considered an unauthorized gambling offering. Following an initial formal notice from the ANJ, ADVENTURE ONE QSS INC. implemented a geoblocking measure preventing any financial transactions related to the company’s gaming offerings from French territory; however, in practice, this measure has been circumvented.

In February 2026, the National Gaming Authority reiterated that prediction sites are not authorized in France and are considered illegal gambling sites. Because some of their addictive features are similar to those of regulated gambling offerings—but are amplified by the absence of the protective mechanisms found in the legal gambling market—the ANJ urged users to exercise caution.

Some of the bets offered on this platform appeared to be rigged: for example, bets on the weather revealed that weather sensors may have been hacked. An investigation into this matter was launched on May 4, 2026, by the cybercrime unit of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office and entrusted to the OFAC (Office for Combating Cybercrime). This case revealed the absence, on the Polymarket platforms available to French and European users, of a user identification system to verify their integrity (known as KYC, or “Know Your Customer”).

Over the past two years, the platform has steadily gained visitors in France, with 578,751 visits and 205,057 unique visitors last June. The site’s homepage, which dynamically displays in real time the odds associated with various events open to betting, is thus a major channel for disseminating and promoting Polymarket’s offerings, even though the site’s operations are not authorized in France.  

Over the past two years, the platform has steadily gained visitors in France, with 578,751 visits and 205,057 unique visitors last June. The site’s homepage, which dynamically displays real-time odds for various events open to betting, thus serves as a major channel for disseminating and promoting Polymarket’s offerings, even though the site’s operations are not authorized in France. Advertising, by any means whatsoever, for an unauthorized betting or gambling site is a criminal offense. Those who advertise such services may be subject to a fine of €100,000. The same penalty also applies to anyone who, by any means whatsoever, has publicly disseminated the odds and payout ratios offered by these unauthorized sites for the purpose of promoting unlicensed online gambling sites.

Under these circumstances, the ANJ has exercised its power to administratively block this site, as it has done every year (1,290 URLs blocked in 2025) since it was granted this authority. 

It will remain vigilant regarding future developments that may be implemented by ADVENTURE ONE QSS INC., such as the implementation of user identity and location verification that is sufficiently early and robust to effectively prevent players located in France from being exposed to the service and accessing it. 

Prediction markets are attracting growing interest from regulatory authorities. The hybrid nature of these markets may explain the varied approaches taken by regulatory authorities around the world. In Europe, several countries have already restricted or blocked prediction markets: Germany, Belgium, Romania, Switzerland, Poland, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Portugal, S