France’s national gaming regulator has ordered internet service providers to completely block access to the crypto-based prediction site Polymarket.
Key Takeaways
On July 17, the ANJ ordered French ISPs to completely block the prediction platform Polymarket.Data manipulation at Meteo-France exposed vulnerabilities across prediction markets.France joins 3 EU nations including Germany and Italy which have imposed regulations against sites like Polymarket.France’s national gaming regulator announced Friday it has ordered internet service providers to completely block access to Polymarket, escalating a crackdown on the prediction platform over fears of rampant market manipulation and illegal gambling.
Under French law, the ANJ determined that the site’s real-time odds updates operated as a form of illegal advertising.
“Advertising, by any means whatsoever, in favor of an unauthorized betting or gambling site is a criminal offense,” the regulator stated, warning that violations could yield corporate fines reaching approximately $114,000.
Central to the regulator’s aggressive intervention are rising concerns over data integrity and rigged wagers. In April, France’s national weather agency, Meteo-France, filed a complaint against the prediction platform following a breach.
According to officials, hackers breached one of Meteo-France’s digital weather probes to intentionally alter environmental data readings. The cyber-tampering was designed to artificially trigger specific outcomes on Polymarket’s weather-related prediction pools, allowing rogue traders to secure guaranteed payouts on skewed bets.
Global Insider Trading ConcernsIn the U.S., a soldier is facing federal charges after he allegedly used classified military intelligence to wager on the outcome of a January operation aimed at capturing former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The soldier reportedly netted more than $400,000 from the insider bets.
On July 16, the White House suspended a teleprompter operator over allegations that he placed targeted bets on the specific wording and content of upcoming speeches by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Regulators have also pointed to individual traders capable of swinging entire markets single-handedly, citing a French trader known as “Fredi9999” who reportedly moved political betting odds via multimillion-dollar wagers, eventually walking away with roughly $50 million in profits.
