France Orders ISPs to Block Polymarket Ahead of World Cup Final

France's gambling regulator, the Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), ordered internet service providers to block access to prediction market Polymarket on July 16. The regulator said the platform was promoting an unauthorized gambling service and could expose users to large losses.

The ANJ issued the order after noting Polymarket's public homepage displays live odds even where trading had been restricted. The regulator treats that display as advertising for an unlicensed betting service. Under French law, promoting an unauthorized betting site can be a criminal offense with fines up to €100,000. The block will remain in place until Polymarket complies with French rules.

Polymarket restricted trading for French users in November 2024 following a formal notice, but the site remained accessible in a view-only mode. The regulator cited web-traffic data showing 578,751 visits from 205,057 unique French visitors in June.

The order arrives days before the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina at MetLife Stadium, scheduled to kick off at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday. Polymarket's World Cup Winner market has reported volume exceeding $4 billion. A separate contract on the final on rival platform Kalshi has attracted more than $1.27 billion.

The ANJ also raised concerns about potential market manipulation. It pointed to some wagers, including weather-related contracts, that suggested sensors feeding the markets may have been hacked. Those concerns prompted the Paris prosecutor's cybercrime unit to open an investigation on May 4.

French scrutiny of Polymarket dates to 2024, when a trader using the name ‘Fredi9999' placed an estimated $79 million bet on Donald Trump's presidential win. Other jurisdictions have taken action: the Czech Republic ordered ISPs to block Polymarket on July 13, Portugal issued a block earlier this year, and Brazil enacted a broad ban on prediction and betting platforms in April.

Polymarket did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The ANJ's statement did not provide technical details of the ISP-level block or a specific timeline for lifting the restriction beyond saying it will stand until the platform aligns with French legal requirements.