France has ordered internet providers to block Polymarket, escalating its campaign against the crypto-based prediction platform just as World Cup betting activity peaks. The move matters beyond one website: regulators are increasingly treating prediction markets as gambling businesses, regardless of the blockchain technology underneath them.
France’s National Gambling Authority issued the order on July 16, saying Polymarket promoted an illegal gambling and betting service. French users had already been prevented from making financial transactions on the platform following regulatory intervention in 2024. The new internet-service-provider block goes further by targeting access itself. Authorities also cited the risk of significant user losses and possible manipulation of some wagers.
For Polymarket, the commercial warning is clear. A platform can dominate crypto prediction trading and still lose access to major countries one regulator at a time. France joins a broader group of jurisdictions restricting unlicensed prediction markets, creating compliance costs and limiting customer growth. Traders should also understand that a market being settled onchain does not make it legally available everywhere—or guarantee uninterrupted access when authorities intervene.
This is mainly downside for Polymarket’s international expansion and a user-access risk for prediction-market traders. It is potential upside for locally licensed betting operators and compliant competitors, but the bigger theme is regulatory fragmentation. Prediction markets are becoming mainstream enough to attract serious enforcement, and users should care most about local legality, withdrawal access and platform concentration—not just whether their bets look clever.