France Blocks Entire Polymarket Site; Previous "Trading-Only" Controls Bypassed by 578,000 French Users
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France Blocks Entire Polymarket Site; Previous "Trading-Only" Controls Bypassed by 578,000 French Users
On-chain settlement can be decentralized, but ordinary users still have to rely on websites to place orders and watch the market; regulators are targeting precisely this entry point.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: CryptoSlate
Compiled by: TechFlow
TechFlow Insights: French regulators originally only required Polymarket to prohibit French users from trading, but there were still 578,000 visits from France in June 2026. This exposes a key contradiction: on-chain settlement can be decentralized, but ordinary users still rely on websites to place orders and view markets—regulators are targeting precisely this entry point.
French gambling regulators have ordered internet service providers to block access to the crypto prediction market platform Polymarket, stating that the previous geo-fencing restricting only trading was still being bypassed in practice.
The National Gambling Authority of France (ANJ) issued the order on July 17, stating that even though previous restriction measures aimed to block financial transactions from France, the Polymarket website was still promoting unauthorized gambling services. Citing Similarweb data, the regulator stated that the website received 578,751 visits from France and 205,057 unique visitors in June 2026.
These data explain why France escalated from requiring the operator to restrict trading to directly instructing the country's access providers to block the main website.
This escalation also exposes a key limitation of the view that "on-chain markets transcend national jurisdiction": settlement can occur on the blockchain, but mainstream users still rely on websites and operator-controlled systems to discover markets and submit orders.
Geo-fencing Failed to Stop Audience Access
This escalation is not France's first intervention. In November 2024, the ANJ stated it had contacted Adventure One QSS Inc. (the operator company identified by the agency as Polymarket, registered in Panama), after the ANJ determined that the platform's services might constitute unauthorized gambling under French law. Subsequently, Adventure One set up geo-blocking, and regulators initially stated that it prevented betting from France.
The ANJ's July 2026 notice positioned the new order as the next step in the same case. The notice stated that previous control measures prevented financial transactions from within France, but led to circumvention in practice. Meanwhile, the Polymarket homepage continued to display real-time odds to a large French audience.
Control measures refusing new transactions may reduce direct participation, but the website's role in attracting users and disseminating betting prices remains intact. The ANJ stated that the dynamically updated odds on the homepage make it a primary channel for promoting what the agency considers illegal activity.
French law provides regulators with a pathway to take action against this interface. After a statutory notice and response period, Article 61 allows the ANJ to order access providers to block access to specific illegal online interfaces and to require search engines or directories to stop referencing them. The regulator stated that 1,290 URLs related to illegal gambling were blocked using this process in 2025.
The result is broader distribution sanctions. France no longer relies on the platform to decide which transactions to refuse, but can instead pressure domestic networks and discovery services connecting mainstream audiences to the platform.
The ANJ bases its case on gambling laws rather than cryptocurrency usage. Its 2024 notice stated that the intervention involved the broader gambling nature of the service.
Its February 2026 policy statement expanded on this rationale. The regulator classified prediction markets as unauthorized gambling in France, stating that they combine continuous access and viral spread, but with fewer protections than licensed operators. It cited addiction and integrity risks, as well as a lack of identity and age checks, as reasons for restricting access.
The regulator's argument shows why the homepage displaying odds is not neutral in its view. Real-time prices have a product marketing function, while identity, age controls, and integrity systems around the market determine whether authorities view it as an acceptable local user service.
Blocking Hits Service Layer, Not Polygon Contracts
Polymarket's own documentation clearly delineates the boundary between distribution and settlement. Its current geo-restriction page lists France as close-only status on the frontend and API. Users in this category can close existing positions but cannot open new positions. The platform hosts its IP eligibility checks on polymarket.com, indicating that geo-access is enforced through operator-controlled infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Polymarket describes its central limit order book as a hybrid system. Orders are matched off-chain, while matched transactions are settled atomically via trading contracts on Polygon. According to the platform, transactions are non-custodial.
France's order targets access to the website and its service interface, not Polymarket's independent Polygon settlement layer. Nothing in the order indicates that France disabled the contracts. Its actual leverage is concentrated on the level of making the product available and discoverable to ordinary customers.
Reaching a wide audience relies on an identifiable frontend, reliable order submission, off-chain matching, geo-eligibility checks, and a compliance posture that allows users and distribution partners to interact with the product.
ISP blocking disrupts this commercial pathway. On-chain settlement does not make distribution permissionless: the front door remains where national regulators can exert influence.
Europe's response remains a patchwork of national actions, rather than a single EU-wide ban. The ANJ identified 12 European jurisdictions, stating that they have restricted or blocked prediction markets: Germany, Belgium, Romania, Switzerland, Poland, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic.
Actions across jurisdictions vary. Spain provides a recent example. On May 26, 2026, the country's General Directorate for the Regulation of Gambling ordered the blocking of Polymarket and Kalshi websites as an interim measure during its proceedings regarding possible unlicensed gambling operations. Spanish regulators emphasized licensing, identity verification, minor access controls, and self-exclusion protections.
This patchwork creates difficult operational choices for prediction markets. Stronger geo-restraints may reduce immediate regulatory risk, but France's experience shows that trading-only restrictions may not satisfy authorities who view visible odds and audience reach as part of the gambling service.
Broader identity checks and consumer protection can address some concerns, while obtaining licensing requires platforms to comply with legal categories that may vary by country.
Recent tests focus on whether Polymarket will change its frontend controls, regulatory posture, or distribution model to retain mainstream access as more European jurisdictions classify prediction markets as gambling.
France has demonstrated where its influence lies. If regulators can make the website harder to access and increase the compliance costs of serving domestic audiences through operator-controlled access and distribution layers, they do not need to change the settlement logic of on-chain markets.
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