South Korea’s Communications Deliberation Committee voted on Aug. 18 to block domestic access to Polymarket, rejecting the prediction market’s argument that its non-custodial, smart contract structure puts it outside the country’s gambling laws.
The committee found that Polymarket violates South Korea’s Criminal Act and its National Sports Promotion Act. Its reasoning centered on the platform’s structure: financial outcomes tied to events users cannot control, including elections, sports results and weather, combined with the fact that Polymarket creates the markets, sets the trading rules and collects transaction fees. In the committee’s framing, that combination makes it an operator, according to Digital Asset
- ~May 22, 2026 – South Korean regulators open a formal review into whether Polymarket constitutes illegal gambling.
- June 3, 2026 – South Korea’s presidential election; heavy Polymarket wagering reported, running into the hundreds of billions of won.
- June 2026 – Gangwon Provincial Police open a separate criminal investigation into individual users, at the request of national police headquarters.
- July 6, 2026 – The KCSC’s Communications Review Subcommittee grants Polymarket a hearing opportunity before ruling.
- Aug. 18, 2026 – The committee votes to block domestic access, rejecting Polymarket’s non-custodial defense.
Polymarket told the committee it operates through non-custodial peer-to-peer transactions and smart contracts, that it does not act as a gambling operator. It also argued the platform falls outside the scope of Korea’s telecommunications law.
Why South Korea Rejected Polymarket’s Defense
In May that South Korean regulators had opened a formal review of Polymarket over potential gambling law violations. Trading around the country’s June 3 presidential election drew regulatory attention separately: wagering on the platform reportedly ran into the hundreds of billions of won, and individual users faced fines of up to 10 million won under existing gambling statutes.
Gangwon Provincial Police opened a criminal investigation into users that same month, at the request of national police headquarters. Ahn Chang-bo, an attorney representing some of the users under investigation, said the legal elements required for a gambling offense appear to exist, though he added that no domestic precedent exists for prosecuting Polymarket participation specifically.
Before ruling, the KCSC’s Communications Review Subcommittee gave Polymarket a chance to respond. The commission said in July it wanted to “thoroughly verify the legality of Polymarket” and its operating methods before deciding whether to issue a corrective order. The Aug. 18 vote is that decision.
Regulator vs. Polymarket
| Regulator’s position | Polymarket’s defense | |
|---|---|---|
| Core claim | Platform functions as a gambling operator | Platform is a neutral, non-custodial protocol |
| Structure | “Winner-take-all” outcomes tied to events users can’t control: politics, sports, elections, weather | Transactions run peer-to-peer via smart contracts; no central operator collecting funds |
| Money handling | Platform creates markets, sets trading rules, and profits from transaction fees | Doesn’t “directly collect/manage user funds or issue sports betting tokens” |
| Legal basis | Violates the Criminal Act and the National Sports Promotion Act | Argues it “does not fall under the scope of applicable telecommunications law” |
| Outcome | “Technical characteristics or service methods cannot be used to evade Korean law application” | Defense rejected; access ordered blocked |
What the Aug. 18 Block Means for Polymarket
Korea’s move puts it alongside roughly 20 other countries that have restricted or banned Polymarket, Kalshi, or both in 2026, including France, Australia and Germany. Most of those actions rest on general unlicensed-gambling or licensing grounds.
What sets Korea’s ruling apart is the record it created: a formal hearing, Polymarket’s custody argument entered into that hearing, and a committee decision rejecting it point by point rather than simply citing the absence of a local license. Whether the block is in force at the ISP level yet, and whether Polymarket intends to appeal.
Polymarket’s Fed Decision in September? market currently shows a 72% probability of no rate change and 29% for a 25 basis point increase, making it one of the platform’s major active markets.
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