- The United States has also officially banned Polymarket in 2022, after a $1.4 million settlement with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.
- France has also imposed a ban on this platform, quoting it as a gambling platform. The regulatory investigation was also initiated.
- Polymarket introduced in 2020 uses USD Coin (USDC) for the transactions and operates on the Polygon blockchain to have an advantage of its scalability and reduced transaction costs.
Singapore has banned an American cryptocurrency-based prediction market Polymarket, quoting ongoing clampdown on unlicensed gambling platforms. On January 12, the site became inaccessible for the users.
The vice president of investment and custody at Cobo Global, Alex Zuo posted on X that the executives have officially declared Polymarket as a gambling site. He further added that anyone making bets must do so by a state-authorized operator to keep oneself away from fines or imprisonment.
In his post, he added a screenshot that shows that Singapore’s Gambling Regulatory Authority alerts users that Singapore Pools is the only licensed gambling operator within the boundaries. Anyone proven guilty of gambling with unlicensed providers risks a fine of up to $10,000, up to 6 months in jail, or both.
Polymarket acts as a decentralized prediction market where users bet on real-world event results using cryptocurrency. Users bet on a range of events. These consist of political elections, economic data, entertainment awards, and sports results. Every event is formulated as a question with transparent resolution norms.
Other states banning Polymarket
The United States has also officially banned Polymarket in 2022, after a $1.4 million settlement with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission for operating as an unregistered trading platform. However, the prediction platform witnessed a rush in activity at the time of the 2024 US elections, showing strong user engagement and high financial stakes.
On November 5, the platform reached a daily trading volume of $294 million following the election day, which was mainly piloted by boosted interest and last-minute bets as the results came out.
Reportedly, many IP addresses hailing from the US were active on Polymarket by using a virtual private network despite the ban on the app for US users and the app was under scrutiny by the Department of Justice at that time.
France has also imposed a ban on this platform, quoting it as a gambling platform. The regulatory investigation was initiated after a trader from France placed more than $30 million in bets on US elections. He won around $80 million from the bet.
The working
Polymarket introduced in 2020 uses USD Coin (USDC) for the transactions and operates on the Polygon blockchain to have an advantage of its scalability and reduced transaction costs. By giving permission to users to link their crypto wallets directly, it cuts off the need for traditional KYC procedures, which makes it more appealing to those who are fond of privacy.
Traders use the platform to place bets on ongoing real-world events and the very famous event was none other than the US presidential elections.
