France has ordered internet service providers to block Polymarket, with the president of the country's National Gambling Authority directing ISPs on July 16, 2026 to cut off access to the pre
France has ordered internet service providers to block Polymarket, with the president of the country's National Gambling Authority directing ISPs on July 16, 2026 to cut off access to the prediction market platform that regulators classify as an illegal gambling service.
The order, issued by France's National Gambling Authority (ANJ), instructs internet providers operating in France to block the Polymarket website at the network level. It targets how users reach the platform rather than the company itself. For related coverage, see Binance Lists Microsoft and Meta Stocks: What It Means.
The distinction matters. An ISP block is a distribution restriction imposed inside France; it does not seize Polymarket's operations, freeze its funds, or dissolve the company. Polymarket says it operates on Polygon and denominates transactions in USDC, and it remains reachable from jurisdictions outside the order's reach.
The ANJ said its scrutiny of Polymarket dates back to November 2024, when the platform first became subject to French action. The regulator concluded that earlier geoblocking on transactions had been circumvented in practice.
To justify the escalation, the ANJ pointed to traffic that continued despite those restrictions. It recorded 578,751 visits to Polymarket from France in June 2026, evidence the regulator says proves the platform remained materially accessible.
French visits to Polymarket in June 2026 578,751 ANJ said Polymarket logged 578,751 visits from France in June 2026, reinforcing the regulator's case that earlier controls were still being bypassed. Source: ANJThe same June 2026 snapshot showed 205,057 unique visitors from France, indicating broad reach in the market the regulator is now trying to wall off.
Unique French visitors in June 2026 205,057 ANJ reported 205,057 unique French visitors in June 2026, indicating the platform still had broad reach in the market France is trying to block. Source: ANJThe regulator has also argued that Polymarket's homepage odds themselves function as illegal advertising of unauthorized gambling, a practice that can trigger fines of up to €100,000. Reuters reported the ANJ's rationale included concern that Polymarket could expose users to significant gambling losses and that some wagers could be manipulated.
According to unconfirmed reports cited by the ANJ, some Polymarket weather bets appeared rigged through tampered sensors, and a cybercrime investigation was opened on May 4, 2026. That manipulation claim has not been adjudicated in the regulator's published notice. This escalation follows the same authority's earlier move to block Polymarket over its lack of French authorization.
For French users, the immediate effect is a network-level barrier: attempting to reach Polymarket through a domestic provider should now fail. The block sits on top of the earlier transaction restrictions the ANJ says were being bypassed.
For Polymarket, the order pressures traffic, visibility, and its compliance posture in one of Europe's larger internet markets. The June figures the regulator cited suggest France had been a meaningful source of users, and cutting that funnel raises the operational cost of remaining accessible there.
How effective the block proves in practice is not something the fetched evidence settles, and workarounds or enforcement outcomes should not be overstated without sourced reporting. The measure joins a wider European pattern of platform-level restrictions, including the recent end of Binance's French trading access after a MiCA deadline.
A state-directed ISP block signals a harder enforcement posture than routine warnings. The ANJ formally reiterated on February 25, 2026 that prediction market platforms are not authorized in France and are considered illegal gambling services lacking protections such as identity checks, limits, and self-exclusion tools.
The move fits squarely in policy rather than product news: France is applying national internet enforcement tools to a crypto-adjacent platform, part of the same regulatory tightening that has reshaped access through rules like the removal of USDT from regulated EU exchanges under MiCA. The Polymarket order also contrasts with markets moving the other way, such as Turkey, where a Paribu integration recently opened Polymarket access.
The escalation did not coincide with obvious broader-crypto contagion. POL, the closest liquid ecosystem proxy given Polymarket runs on Polygon, traded at $0.080827, down about 1.7% over 24 hours, while the Fear & Greed Index sat at 28 (Fear), a reading driven by wider sentiment rather than this order.
No direct public response from Polymarket to the July 16 order appeared in the available evidence, and the ANJ framed the action as part of its broader campaign against unauthorized gambling sites. Whether the block holds up against circumvention, and whether other European regulators follow, are the open questions this measure now sets up.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.
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