Citing concerns over "betting manipulation," the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) has decided to block domestic access to the overseas prediction market platform "Polymarket," ruling that it constitutes speculative gambling.

Polymarket is a blockchain-based prediction market platform where users trade "YES" or "NO" shares predicting the future outcomes of major political, economic, electoral, and sporting issues. It has faced persistent criticism for closely resembling speculative gambling.

The KCSC announced on August 18 that its Telecommunications Deliberation Subcommittee (chaired by Standing Commissioner Kim Woo-seok) held a meeting and voted to block access to the platform. The committee determined that Polymarket falls under information that abets gambling or aims to establish a gambling venue under the Criminal Act, as well as information intended for "similar acts" under the National Sports Promotion Act.

Appearing for a statement of opinion today, representatives of Polymarket argued that the platform had removed its Korean-language service and that Korean won payments were unavailable.

They claimed, "It does not fall under the scope of application of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc.," adding, "Because the platform is operated through non-custodial P2P transactions and smart contracts, it does not have a central operator."

They further stated, "Since it does not directly disburse or manage funds, nor does it issue sports promotion voting tickets, it does not meet the requirements for violating the Criminal Act and the National Sports Promotion Act, nor does it meet the criteria for speculative acts."

However, the KCSC countered, "Application of domestic laws cannot be evaded based on service methods or technical characteristics, such as whether a Korean-language service is provided or the use of centralized technologies like trading interfaces." The committee added, "As Polymarket provides a winner-take-all profit-and-loss structure based on chance focusing on domestic-specific issues—such as Seoul precipitation levels in August—thereby creating a practical illegal gambling environment for domestic users, access-blocking measures are inevitable to protect domestic users."

Prior to this review, the KCSC gathered opinions from relevant agencies, including the Korean National Police Agency, the National Gambling Control Commission, and the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation. The commission noted that these agencies also shared the view that Polymarket's operational model could constitute the crime of gambling.

Ultimately, the KCSC concluded that Polymarket's winner-take-all structure—where users' financial gains and losses are radically determined by the outcomes of events beyond their control—fosters a speculative mindset.

The KCSC further explained that it took into account the fact that Polymarket operators manage and control the overall platform, including opening markets and setting trading rules, and generate economic profits by collecting transaction fees through an environment that recruits and distributes user funds based on cryptocurrency deposit, withdrawal, and settlement systems.

Internationally, France blocked access to Polymarket starting July 16, citing concerns that it could cause massive losses for users or lead to betting manipulation, while Australia and Germany implemented access blocks in August and September 2025, respectively.

(Photo: Yonhap News)