Is Polymarket legal? It depends on where you are
In short
Why the answer depends on the country
Prediction markets sit between two kinds of law. Some countries regulate them as financial products (in the US, event contracts fall under the CFTC); many others treat a bet on an event as gambling, which needs a local licence. A venue that is legal in one place can be unlicensed next door.
Polymarket's own terms list the regions where it does not offer trading and say that users must not get around them (for example with a VPN). Its developer docs also list "close-only" countries, where existing positions can be closed but no new ones opened; as of October 2026 these include the US, the UK, France, Belgium, Poland and Singapore. That list is the first thing to check, and it changes.
The United States
In January 2022 Polymarket settled with the CFTC over offering event contracts without registering: it paid a $1.4 million penalty and agreed to wind down the markets that did not comply, and it has blocked US users from its international exchange since. In July 2025 it bought QCEX, a CFTC-licensed exchange and clearinghouse, and it serves US users through that separate, regulated app, Polymarket US (reported to open to all US iPhone users in May 2026). Some US states also challenge prediction markets on sport, so the rules can differ by state.
Europe and Asia
Gambling regulators in several countries have acted publicly. France's gaming authority (ANJ) approached Polymarket in November 2024, after which it blocked payments from France; in July 2026 the ANJ ordered French internet providers to block the site. Switzerland's gambling supervisor (Gespa) has been reported to list polymarket.com on its blocklist since November 2024. In January 2025 Belgium's Gaming Commission blacklisted it, Poland's Ministry of Finance was reported to add it to its register of illegal gambling domains, and Singapore's Gambling Regulatory Authority had internet providers block it. Others, including Portugal, Hungary and Ukraine, have since been reported to block it, and many countries restrict unlicensed gambling in general.
What this means for you
Viewing odds is generally not the issue: anyone can read prices and news about them. Trading is: where a venue is not licensed, using it can break local law or its terms, and accounts can be closed or funds frozen. If you are unsure, check the venue's terms and your national gambling or financial regulator, and ask a lawyer for advice on your situation.
How PredictRips handles this
PredictRips is a separate brand that builds packs from live Polymarket markets. Anyone can view its odds pages from anywhere. Buying packs is not available in restricted territories, which include the US, the UK, France and the other places on the list in the FAQ; VPNs are not allowed, and players are 18+.
Reported regulator actions on Polymarket (general information, as of October 2026)
| Where | What was reported | When | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | CFTC settlement ($1.4 million penalty); US users blocked from the international exchange. Later, a separate CFTC-regulated US app after buying QCEX | January 2022; July 2025 | CFTC release 8478-22 (3 Jan 2022); The Block, Yogonet (May 2026) |
| France | Gaming authority (ANJ) treated it as unauthorised gambling; payments from France blocked, then an order to internet providers to block the site | November 2024; July 2026 | ANJ (anj.fr), July 2026 |
| Switzerland | polymarket.com on the gambling supervisor's (Gespa) blocklist | November 2024 | Gespa blocklist (gespa.ch); SiGMA, August 2025 |
| Belgium | Blacklisted by the Gaming Commission | January 2025 | SiGMA, GamblingNews (January 2025) |
| Poland | Added to the Ministry of Finance's register of illegal gambling domains | January 2025 | Cointelegraph (reported) |
| Singapore | Internet providers ordered to block it by the Gambling Regulatory Authority | January 2025 | Decrypt, AGB (13 January 2025) |