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Polymarket homepage. / Yonhap

Overseas prediction market platform Polymarket will be blocked from access in South Korea, after authorities determined it operates as an illegal gambling site rather than a legitimate information service.

The Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) announced on the 18th that it held a review at its Communications Standards Subcommittee and resolved to issue a corrective order and block access to Polymarket. The commission determined that Polymarket constitutes information related to aiding and abetting gambling and operating gambling venues under the Criminal Act, as well as activity resembling sports betting tickets under the National Sports Promotion Act.

Polymarket is a blockchain-based platform where users trade shares predicting the outcomes of various events, including politics, economics, international relations, sports, elections, and weather. Users deposit cryptocurrency, such as the dollar-pegged stablecoin USDC, to participate in trades. If their prediction is correct, they earn a profit; if wrong, they lose money.

Critics have argued the platform functions essentially as a gambling service, and the commission began its review in May of this year. In July, it decided to hear Polymarket's position, which was reflected at that day's meeting.

Polymarket argued that since it has removed its Korean-language service and doesn't allow won-based payments, it doesn't fall under regulation by the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization. The company also stated that because it operates on a non-custodial basis, it doesn't function as an intermediary, and since it doesn't directly manage funds or issue sports betting tickets, it doesn't meet the requirements for illegal gambling activity either.

However, relevant agencies including the National Police Agency, the National Gambling Control Commission, and the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation countered that this method of operation still qualifies as operating a gambling venue and constitutes gambling offenses under domestic law.

The commission ultimately determined that Polymarket's winner-take-all profit-and-loss structure — where financial gains or losses are decided in extreme fashion based on outcomes users cannot control — promotes a gambling mindset. It also found that the operator manages the platform overall, including creating markets and setting trading rules, while profiting economically through fees.

The commission said, "Whether or not a Korean-language service is offered, or technical characteristics such as decentralization, cannot be used to evade the application of domestic law," adding, "Since the platform effectively provides domestic users with an illegal gambling environment, blocking access is unavoidable to protect users."

Meanwhile, Polymarket has faced similar gambling-related controversy overseas since last year, with Australia, Germany, and France having each determined it constitutes an illegal gambling service and blocked access.

                                                                                                         Kim Hong-chan