France blocks access to Polymarket, accused of illegal advertising for betting.

The French National Gaming Authority announced on Friday the complete blocking of the Polymarket prediction market website from French territory, considering that the display of real-time odds constituted a form of illegal advertising.

Financial transactions with Polymarket had already been prohibited since November 2024, but French internet users could still access the site's homepage. It is this loophole that the ANJ (French National Gaming Authority) has just closed. The platform displayed "in real time and dynamically the odds associated with the various events that could be bet on," which the regulator now considers advertising for an activity not authorized within the national territory.

The law is clear on this point: "Advertising, by any means whatsoever, for an unauthorized betting or gambling site is a criminal offense," reminds the ANJ (National Gaming Authority). Anyone who disseminates the odds of an unauthorized site for promotional purposes is liable to a fine of up to €100,000.

The decision comes as Polymarket's traffic in France had been steadily increasing. The regulator reports 578,751 visits recorded last June, including 205,057 unique visitors. This represents a consistent increase in audience numbers for the past two years, despite existing restrictions.

The case took on a new dimension with an incident in April: Météo-France filed a complaint after the alleged tampering of a temperature probe, suspected of having been manipulated in connection with online betting on the platform. An investigation was opened on May 4, 2026, by the cybercrime unit of the Paris prosecutor's office and entrusted to the Office Against Cybercrime (OFAC).

France is not alone in this approach. Germany, Belgium, Romania, Switzerland, Poland, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic have already restricted or blocked prediction markets within their territories. The ANJ acknowledges that "the hybrid nature of these markets may explain the varied approaches of regulatory authorities around the world."