France orders Polymarket blocked over illegal gambling

France orders Polymarket blocked after the country's National Gaming Authority told internet providers to cut access to the crypto prediction market. Regulators cite illegal gambling promotion, a bypassed geoblock, and a Paris probe into alleged rigged weather bets — a sharp turn for platforms once treated as fringe tech curiosities.

Key Takeaways

• France's ANJ ordered ISPs on July 16 to block Polymarket sites run by ADVENTURE ONE QSS INC.
• The agency says the platform illegally promoted gambling and that an earlier French geoblock was being circumvented.
• A May Paris cybercrime probe is examining alleged manipulation of weather-related bets via compromised sensors.
• Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland have also restricted or blocked prediction markets.
• The ANJ reported blocking 1,290 URLs in 2025 under its administrative powers.

Why did France order Polymarket blocked?

France's National Gaming Authority, known as the ANJ, concluded that Polymarket was illegally promoting gambling and games of chance to people in France. The crypto-based prediction market lets users wager on real-world outcomes, which the regulator says is not authorized under French law.

According to reporting from Mashable, the ANJ has monitored Polymarket's activity in France since November 2024. Officials previously issued a formal notice that led the company to geoblock financial transactions from French users. The agency later said that restriction was being circumvented, prompting the stronger blocking order.

The decision also sits beside an unresolved investigation. In May, the Paris prosecutor's cybercrime unit opened a probe into allegations that weather-related bets on the platform were manipulated through compromised sensors. Separately, the ANJ said Polymarket lacks a "Know Your Customer" identification system for its French and European users — a gap the agency links to risks that include addiction and market manipulation.

In February, the ANJ had already warned the public that using unauthorized prediction markets carries risks. The July 16 order, signed by the ANJ's president, turns that warning into a network-level block for French internet users.

What does the blocking order actually cover?

The order directs French internet service providers to block access to Polymarket. It applies to all Polymarket sites operated by ADVENTURE ONE QSS INC., according to the regulator's decision as described in coverage of the case.

That means the crackdown is not limited to a single landing page. An ISP-level block is designed to stop ordinary access on French networks to the listed Polymarket domains operated by that company.

Polymarket's wider recent controversies also help explain the climate around the decision. Coverage of the company has pointed to a Wall Street Journal investigation, reported by Mashable, finding that Polymarket paid influencers to promote fabricated betting wins on TikTok. Separate reporting has described the platform's efforts to block VPN access amid legal pressure in the United States. Those episodes are part of the public record surrounding the brand as European regulators treat prediction markets as gambling products.

For readers who track how online betting culture has shifted from niche experiment to regulated risk, this crackdown belongs with other Nostalgia: Then & Now stories about the internet's long move from anything-goes chance games to licensed — or blocked — platforms.

How does France's move compare with the rest of Europe?

France is not acting alone. The ANJ noted that Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland have already restricted or blocked prediction markets. The French action therefore fits a broader European pattern: treating crypto prediction venues as unauthorized gambling when they reach local users without approval.

The scale of France's blocking work is also notable. The ANJ said it blocked 1,290 URLs in 2025 under its administrative powers. Polymarket joins that list as one of the highest-profile prediction-market brands to face an ISP-level cutoff.

Prediction markets have often been pitched as information tools that crowd-price odds on elections, sports, and headlines. European gaming authorities increasingly reject that framing when the product involves staking money on uncertain events. France's February public warning stressed addiction and market-manipulation risks. The July block is the enforcement step that follows when an earlier geoblock failed to stick.

What should French users and market watchers expect next?

In practical terms, French users should expect Polymarket domains covered by the order to become unreachable through standard ISP connections. The ANJ's position is that prediction markets are not authorized in France, and it has already warned that using such platforms carries serious risks.

The Paris cybercrime investigation into alleged weather-bet manipulation remains part of the public account of the case. That probe, plus the KYC criticism, means scrutiny extends beyond a simple site block. Other European countries that already restricted similar platforms show how national gaming authorities have been willing to cut off access once a service is labeled illegal gambling.

For BlasterPost readers, the core takeaway is straightforward: france orders polymarket blocked because France's gambling watchdog says the platform promoted illegal chance games, that an earlier French geoblock was being circumvented, and that a live inquiry into alleged rigged weather bets is unresolved. Promotion, access, and integrity concerns together explain why the crypto prediction market is now on France's blocked list.

For now, the French record is clear on the immediate step: Polymarket is to be blocked at the provider level, and prediction markets without authorization remain off-limits under the rules the ANJ enforces.