France is doubling down on restricting access to Polymarket

France is doubling down on preventative measures for its citizens trying to access Polymarket. The Autorité Nationale Des Jeux (ANJ), the country’s independent regulatory body responsible for licensed gambling and betting, announced this week that it had ordered internet service providers to block access to Polymarket.

The ANJ’s latest decision follows its previous regulatory action from November 2024, which geoblocked any financial transactions by French residents on Polymarket’s website. Despite this ban on transactions, the agency said the platform continues to grow in France thanks to users bypassing the block. According to ANJ, Polymarket saw 578,751 visits, 205,057 of which were unique visits, in the month of June from residents of France. ANJ now wants to take tougher action against Polymarket, reiterating that the platform is considered an illegal gambling site.

Under the ANJ’s latest move, anyone caught promoting an unauthorized betting or gambling site could be fined up to €100,000, or about $114,000. In neighboring Spain, the government also ordered access to Polymarket and Kalshi to be blocked while it investigates whether those sites are violating the country’s gambling laws. In the US, Minnesota passed a bill banning prediction markets from operating in the state, while other states filed lawsuits against Polymarket and Kalshi.