Key Takeaways:
Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs blocked Polymarket on May 22, 2026, citing online gambling laws.The ban followed a Polymarket market on President Prabowo Subianto leaving office before his 2029 term ends.Indonesian authorities have frozen over 33,000 bank accounts in 2026 as part of a broader crackdown on online betting.Polymarket had not issued a public statement in response to the block as of initial reports. Indonesian users blocked by DNS-level restrictions at the ISP level can still access the platform through VPNs.
The ban is part of a long-running national effort. Gambling is illegal in Indonesia, a Muslim-majority country of roughly 280 million people with strict prohibitions on betting in any form. Authorities have blocked millions of gambling-related domains and frozen more than 33,000 bank accounts linked to online betting activity in earlier 2026 enforcement actions. The government coordinates enforcement across multiple agencies, including financial regulator OJK and law enforcement.
The Polymarket market on Prabowo appeared shortly after the president announced plans to consolidate control over key commodity exports, including palm oil, coal, and nickel, through a state agency. That policy drew economic scrutiny and may have contributed to the market gaining traction online.
The Indonesian government has framed its digital enforcement posture around building what officials describe as a “safe, healthy, and productive” online environment. In practice, that means platforms facilitating any form of wagering, including those using decentralized infrastructure, face the same legal treatment as traditional betting sites.
For Indonesian users, the platform joins a growing list of blocked services. For Polymarket, Indonesia adds one more jurisdiction where access depends on a VPN.
