Polymarket has said it will challenge a decision by French authorities to impose a nationwide block on access to its platform, insisting that trading for users in France has already been disabled since November 2024.
The prediction markets operator confirmed it intends to contest the full-site restriction ordered by France’s regulator, which has accused the platform of continuing to promote illegal gambling despite those earlier curbs.
French officials argue that Polymarket still presents significant risks to users in the country, highlighting concerns over potential financial losses, shortcomings in identity verification procedures and the possibility of market manipulation on the platform.
Regulator cites gambling and integrity concerns
In its reasoning for the internet service provider (ISP) block, the regulator said Polymarket was in breach of French gambling laws because its prediction markets are not authorised under the national licensing regime.
The authority also underlined what it sees as inadequate safeguards for French users, pointing to the danger of customers losing money on complex markets, as well as the lack of robust identity checks designed to protect vulnerable participants and prevent underage use.
On top of those issues, the regulator referenced fears that Polymarket’s structure could enable or fail to prevent market manipulation, with traders potentially able to influence or distort outcomes and prices.
Polymarket, which specialises in blockchain-based prediction markets covering politics, current affairs and other events, maintains that it had already restricted trading access for French users late in 2024 and believes a blanket block on its website goes too far.
Part of wider international clampdown
–
France has become the latest jurisdiction to move against Polymarket by ordering local ISPs to prevent access to the site, joining a growing list of countries taking similar steps.
Authorities in Ukraine, Argentina and Spain have already pursued ISP-level blocks against the platform, as regulators around the world increase scrutiny of online prediction markets and their overlap with traditional gambling regulation.
The French action adds further pressure on Polymarket’s ability to operate internationally, with the company now facing a patchwork of national restrictions while it attempts to keep its services available in compliant markets.
Crypto exchange Binance retains user dominance
—
While Polymarket confronts regulatory hurdles, broader digital asset markets have been undergoing a reshuffle since June, with trading activity and user funds shifting between major platforms.
Despite that repositioning, Binance has managed to hold a leading position, accounting for around 55% of user funds tracked in the period and roughly 24% of spot trading volumes.
Data from early July indicates Binance attracted net inflows of capital even as the wider set of monitored exchanges experienced overall outflows, suggesting that users continued to consolidate assets on the largest platform during a period of market uncertainty.
Those flows underline Binance’s continued influence in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, even as prediction market operators such as Polymarket face increasing regulatory intervention in key jurisdictions like France.
