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The ruling mandates internet service providers to prevent access to the site, and instructs Apple and Google to eliminate or limit Polymarket's mobile applications.
(Angelica Reyes/Unsplash/Modified by CoinDesk)
What to know:
- Argentina has mandated a nationwide block on the prediction market Polymarket, arguing that it was functioning without local authorization and posed gambling-related risks to users.
- The ruling instructs internet service providers to obstruct access to the site, and directs Apple and Google to eliminate or limit Polymarket's mobile applications.
- This action is part of a wider crackdown on Polymarket, which already limits or denies access to users in over 30 nations, including France, Germany, and Australia.
Argentina has mandated a nationwide block on the prediction market Polymarket after a Buenos Aires court determined that the platform was operating without local authorization, thereby exposing users to gambling-related risks.
The decree instructs internet providers throughout the country to prevent access to the site and its associated domains, as reported by local media.
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Additionally, it has directed Apple and Google to remove or limit Polymarket’s mobile applications for users within the nation. This action is being enforced by ENACOM, Argentina’s communications authority.
The case was initiated by the City of Buenos Aires Lottery, or LOTBA, and supported by the casino industry association Câmara Argentina de Salas de Casinos, Bindos y Anexos (CASCBA). Prosecutors claimed that while Polymarket presents itself as a prediction market, it effectively operates like a betting platform, where users wager money on binary outcomes related to politics, inflation, wars, and other significant events.
The investigation gained traction when Polymarket seemingly indicated Argentina’s February inflation figure shortly before the official INDEC release. That market experienced a significant shift ahead of the data’s formal announcement, suggesting that some acted on insider information.
Nevertheless, officials stated they focused their case on the platform’s legal status and consumer protection measures.
Authorities noted that the site permitted funding through cryptocurrency and credit cards, did not enforce robust identity or age verification, and allowed users to create accounts in a matter of minutes. Prosecutors contended that this setup facilitated access for minors and other vulnerable individuals to gambling products.
This action follows numerous other countries categorizing Polymarket as an unlicensed gambling platform. The prediction market already limits or blocks access for users in more than 30 nations, including France, Germany, Italy, Australia, and Poland.
In certain jurisdictions, regulators have taken more stringent measures. Earlier this year, Ukraine instructed internet service providers to block the site as part of a broader crackdown on online gambling. Currently, there is no legal framework for Polymarket to operate within that country, according to Dmitry Nikolaievskyi, chief legal officer at the Project Office for the Development of Ukraine's Digital Economy at the Ministry of Digital Transformation.
