South Korea has given Polymarket a chance to defend its operations before regulators decide whether to seek remedial action over concerns that the prediction market platform could violate the country’s gambling laws.
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South Korean regulators will hear Polymarket’s response before deciding on possible corrective measures. Authorities are investigating whether the platform’s prediction markets violate the country’s gambling laws. The review follows an earlier police investigation into Korean polymarket users on suspicion of illegal gambling.
The Broadcasting, Media and Telecommunications Review Committee announced on Monday that it would hear Polymarket’s explanation before making a final decision on requests for redress related to the platform’s legality and service model. According to a machine translation of the commission’s statement, the regulator decided to allow Polymarket to take a position so that both its legal status and the way it operates its services can be fully investigated.
Rather than issuing an immediate recommendation, the commission said it wanted to examine whether the platform’s activities fall under South Korea’s legal framework governing online gambling-related services. The investigation could determine whether authorities move forward with corrective action against the platform.
Regulators are examining whether Polymarket violates gambling laws.
South Korea’s National Gambling Control Commission Act classifies illegal gambling operations as services that facilitate speculative gambling on the Internet. The law also gives regulators the power to identify, monitor and respond to companies that may fall into that category.
As part of that review, the authorities are assessing whether Polymarket’s prediction market complies with national regulations. The committee’s decision to require the company to respond comes before a final enforcement recommendation is made.
Outside of South Korea, Polymarket already has restricted access in several jurisdictions. The company said users in 33 countries have been unable to access its platform, including the US, UK, France, Germany, Brazil, Singapore, Japan and Australia. Polymarket says these limits are designed to comply with sanctions, local financial regulations, gambling and anticipation market laws, anti-money laundering requirements and know-your-customer regulations.
The company is also blocking access in some regions of the countries it supports, including Canada’s Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec, and Ukraine’s Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions.
Authorities expand surveillance beyond individual users
South Korean authorities’ attention is increasingly shifting beyond local users to the platforms themselves. The latest investigation followed an earlier criminal investigation into South Korean users who allegedly participated in election-related prediction markets, which authorities deemed illegal gambling.
On June 5, Gangwon Province Police launched the country’s first investigation into a local polymarket user on suspicion of illegal gambling, according to local media. According to the report, the National Police Agency has requested an investigation.
Under Korean law, gambling-related crimes can result in monetary fines and prison sentences. Under the country’s criminal law, gambling carries a fine of up to 10 million won (about $6,500), while habitual gambling can result in up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won. Separately, those who operate a gambling hall for profit will be subject to up to five years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to 30 million won.
So far, the review committee has not announced any enforcement measures against polymarkets. Instead, regulators have chosen to consider the company’s explanation before deciding whether to request remedial action, leaving the platform’s status in South Korea dependent on the outcome of that legal assessment.
