Czech Republic Places Polymarket on Illegal Gambling List, Requires ISPs to Block Access Within 15 Days

BlockBeats News, July 15th. Czech Republic has become the latest European country to block Polymarket under the reason of "unlicensed gambling." On July 13th, the Czech Ministry of Finance added the platform to the "Unlicensed Online Gaming List," requiring local internet service providers to block access to the platform within 15 days.

Jan Řehola, head of the Czech gambling regulatory authority, stated that in legal gambling, the country knows clearly who is operating, who is participating, and which bets are suspicious. In contrast, although prediction markets allow betting on almost any event such as weather, political decisions, or security actions in a different form, they lack corresponding regulation.

The Czech regulatory authority pointed out that several EU countries have restricted or blocked the platform in recent months, with pressure intensifying this month. Italy has re-added Polymarket to its block list, and the Netherlands has also rejected the platform's appeal. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued a warning this month that event contracts meeting the definition of financial instruments are subject to existing binary options rules, prohibiting retail sales.

Meanwhile, some jurisdictions have taken a different approach: Gibraltar introduced the world's first regulatory framework specifically for prediction markets this week, separating this industry from general gambling laws and allowing licensed operation. Malta has also stated that it is exploring a similar system.