The communications regulator ruled that decentralized settlement does not put the prediction market outside Korean gambling law, and told internet providers to cut off access.
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Posted August 18, 2026 at 4:16 pm EST.
South Korea’s communications regulator resolved on Tuesday to cut off domestic access to Polymarket, finding that the prediction market is speculative in nature and that its decentralized design does not place it outside Korean law.
The communications review subcommittee of the Korea Communications Standards Commission issued a request, directing Korean internet providers to block the site. It cited the Criminal Act provisions on gambling and on operating a gambling venue, along with the National Sports Promotion Act, which covers gambling-like betting.
The Peer-to-Peer Defense Failed
Polymarket had argued that it does not accept won, that it withdrew its Korean-language service, and that trades settle non-custodially between users through smart contracts, so Korean telecommunications and gambling rules should not reach it.
The subcommittee dismissed that. The operator still creates the markets, sets the trading rules, runs the system that collects and distributes user funds in virtual assets, and earns revenue from trading fees, it said. Decentralized technology and the manner in which a service is delivered, it said, cannot be a reason to escape domestic law. Among the evidence that Polymarket had courted Korean users, the commission cited a market on August rainfall in Seoul. It also found the winner-take-all payout structure, which turns on chance rather than skill, encourages gambling.
A Widening Perimeter
The order puts South Korea among the more than 30 jurisdictions that restrict Polymarket, alongside Spain, Indonesia, Argentina and Ukraine. France blocked the platform in July, and Australia and Germany acted last year. Polymarket’s own list of fully restricted countries ran to 39 and did not include South Korea at the time of the ruling.
Korean authorities were already moving on users rather than the platform. Gangwon provincial police, acting on a referral from National Police Agency headquarters, opened an investigation into domestic traders over suspected illegal gambling in June, when Bloomberg reported the probe.
Related Listen: What Two DOJ Cases Reveal About the Legal Risks of Prediction Markets: Bits + Bips
AI-assisted content: This article was produced with the assistance of AI tools and was reviewed, edited, and fact-checked by a member of the Unchained editorial team before publication.
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