South Korea pauses Polymarket enforcement amid gambling probe

The Broadcasting, Media and Communications Review Committee opted to solicit a formal response from the platform before determining whether to issue a corrective request. This procedural step aims to clarify how the service functions within the constraints of the National Gambling Control Commission Act, which classifies online services facilitating speculative betting as illegal gaming businesses. South Korean law imposes significant penalties for such activities, with fines reaching 30 million won and potential prison sentences of up to five years for operators.

Polymarket maintains that its platform includes strict access restrictions to align with international sanctions, anti-money laundering protocols, and local financial regulations. Despite these safeguards, the company faces mounting global pressure. In the United States, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is currently investigating the platform’s business practices, including its marketing strategies. Concurrently, European regulators are evaluating whether specific event-based contracts should be reclassified as financial instruments under existing directives. These investigations coincide with research from Allium, which estimated that U.S.-linked wallets traded approximately $571 million in political contracts over the past year, highlighting persistent challenges in enforcing geographic blocks on offshore prediction markets.