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South Korean regulators are pausing before moving against Polymarket, but the pressure on the prediction market platform is clearly building.
The Korea Communications Standards Commission has chosen not to impose immediate restrictions on the US-based operator, instead seeking a formal explanation from the company before deciding whether intervention is warranted. The move gives Polymarket a chance to defend its business model in a country where betting laws remain tightly controlled and where authorities have already begun examining activity linked to the platform.
The commission’s communications review panel determined that a fuller assessment was necessary before reaching a conclusion on legality, particularly regarding how Polymarket structures and operates its services. Officials indicated that any decision on corrective measures would come only after reviewing materials submitted by the company and evaluating them alongside existing regulations.
Police Investigation Adds Pressure
The review follows a separate development that surfaced last month, when police in Gangwon Province opened what has been described as South Korea’s first investigation into alleged illegal gambling involving domestic Polymarket users. Reports suggested the inquiry originated from a request by the National Police Agency.
South Korea’s gambling framework leaves little room for alternative operators. Betting is largely confined to Sports Toto, the state-backed system managed by the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation, and even their wagering limits are strict. Individual bets are capped at 100,000 won.
Those restrictions stand in stark contrast to activity reportedly seen on Polymarket during the country’s presidential election held on 3 June. Local reports estimated that trading tied to the vote reached into the hundreds of billions of won, exposing participants to potential penalties that can reach 10 million won under existing laws.
Prediction Markets Face Familiar Questions
A central dispute remains unresolved: whether prediction markets should be treated as gambling businesses at all.
Polymarket has consistently resisted that label, arguing that its markets function differently from conventional betting products. In the United States, the platform operates under oversight from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates derivatives markets rather than gambling operators.
That distinction has found limited acceptance elsewhere.
Authorities in several jurisdictions have moved to restrict access to the platform, often citing gambling regulations. Singapore placed Polymarket on the Gambling Regulatory Authority’s blacklist earlier this year, while Myanmar has also blocked access. Indonesia took action in May after markets related to President Prabowo Subianto’s tenure drew official attention.
A Growing Regulatory Divide
Europe has offered little respite. Several countries have taken the view that prediction markets require gambling licences before they can legally accept local users, a route Polymarket has shown little enthusiasm for pursuing.
There are signs of a more accommodating approach in some corners of the industry. Gibraltar recently authorised two prediction market businesses to operate as betting intermediaries, among them ADI Predictstreet, which has a partnership with FIFA.
South Korea now finds itself confronting the same questions that regulators elsewhere have struggled to answer. Prediction markets continue to attract users, liquidity and political attention at a remarkable pace. Regulators, increasingly, appear to be moving just as quickly.
Source: sbcnews.co.uk
