France’s ANJ Orders ISP Block on Polymarket After 578,751 Visits: EU Regulatory Pushback on Unlicensed Crypto Prediction Markets

Key Takeaways

• ISP Blocking Order: France’s National Gaming Authority directed internet service providers to block Polymarket after ruling its prediction markets an unauthorised gambling offer.
• Traffic Data: The platform recorded 578,751 visits from France in June, with 205,057 unique visitors, despite earlier geo-blocking measures.
• Core Concerns: Absence of KYC user identification, circumvention of geo-blocks, and evidence of potential manipulation including hacked weather probes prompted enforcement.
• European Pattern: The action aligns with restrictions already in place across Germany, Belgium, Romania, Switzerland, Poland, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic.

French users generated 578,751 visits to Polymarket last June, delivering 205,057 unique visitors even after the platform attempted geo-blocking. According to reporting by G3 Newswire, France’s National Gaming Authority (ANJ) responded by ordering internet service providers to block access entirely, classifying the site as an illegal gambling offer.

The decision, first detailed in Gambling News coverage and corroborated by iGaming Business, marks a clear EU-level pushback against unlicensed crypto-based prediction markets. It underscores the regulatory friction these hybrid platforms face when operating without formal authorisation, local licensing, or robust consumer safeguards.

ANJ Enforcement: From Formal Notice to Administrative Block

The ANJ first flagged Polymarket in November 2024. After an initial formal notice, the platform implemented geo-blocking to prevent financial transactions from French territory. That measure proved ineffective, as users continued to access the site and its real-time odds display.

In February 2026 the ANJ highlighted that prediction sites are not authorised in France and constitute illegal gambling. The regulator highlighted risks around addiction, market integrity, and the absence of any user identification system. On May 4, 2026 the cybercrime section of the Paris prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into possible hacking of weather probes used in certain bets, work entrusted to the Anti-Cybercrime Office (OFAC).

These steps culminated in the ISP blocking order. The ANJ has blocked 1,290 URLs in 2025 using the same administrative power. Advertising or disseminating odds for unauthorised sites carries a €100,000 fine under French law.

Evidence of Manipulation Risk and KYC Gaps

ANJ statements cited specific integrity failures. Certain bets appeared distorted, with weather events potentially compromised by hacked data sources. The complete lack of Know Your Customer (KYC) processes left the platform unable to verify user probity or prevent prohibited participation.

This combination—high traffic, circumvention tools, and missing controls—framed the site as a vector for unregulated gambling promotion. The ANJ emphasised that the homepage’s dynamic odds display actively disseminates an unauthorised offer, triggering its blocking authority.

From a structural standpoint, the ruling treats prediction markets as gambling when they allow bets on events without licensed oversight. That classification triggers the full suite of French gambling prohibitions rather than a bespoke regime for event contracts.

Scale of the Challenge: Visitor Numbers Despite Restrictions

The June traffic figures illustrate the enforcement gap. 578,751 visits last June demonstrate sustained French interest even after geo-blocking was introduced.
Unique visitor counts above 200,000 suggest a meaningful audience that regulators determined required stronger measures.

These numbers also reveal the limits of technical blocks in a VPN-enabled environment. Users clearly found ways around the initial geo-fence, turning what operators might view as compliance into a cat-and-mouse exercise that ultimately invited the broader ISP-level intervention.

Such data points matter because they quantify the tension between platform growth and regulatory tolerance. High engagement without licensing or KYC quickly converts commercial momentum into enforcement priority.

Parallels to US CFTC-State Tensions and LATAM Licensing Models

France’s move reflects a broader European pattern. Twelve other jurisdictions—Germany, Belgium, Romania, Switzerland, Poland, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic—have already restricted or blocked similar platforms.

This EU stance parallels regulatory uncertainty in the United States, where CFTC oversight of event contracts collides with state gambling laws. The hybrid character of prediction markets creates exactly the definitional friction now visible in France: are these securities, derivatives, gambling, or something new? Ambiguity invites enforcement actions that fragment rather than clarify the market.

By contrast, certain LATAM jurisdictions have pursued explicit licensing pathways. These models aim to bring operators inside regulated perimeters, capture tax revenue, and impose KYC and integrity standards. The French experience suggests that prohibition without viable licensing alternatives may simply displace activity rather than eliminate it.

The combined coverage from G3 Newswire and iGaming Business correctly catalogues the enforcement steps and cited risks. What remains underemphasised is the strategic signal for operators and investors: regulatory pushback of this nature accelerates the premium placed on jurisdictions offering clear licensing routes. Without them, even substantial traffic figures become liabilities instead of assets.

Where the Risk Lies for Unlicensed Platforms

The most immediate risk is accelerated fragmentation. Blocks drive motivated users toward VPNs or offshore mirrors, potentially increasing the very integrity and addiction exposures regulators seek to contain. A platform without KYC cannot track or intervene in suspicious patterns, leaving both users and market outcomes unprotected.

There is also reputational and operational risk. Repeated blocks across Europe can chill investor appetite and complicate partnerships with regulated sportsbooks or media groups pursuing convergence strategies. For crypto-native prediction platforms, the episode reinforces that technological innovation alone does not override licensing requirements in major consumer markets.

Finally, the precedent may embolden additional regulators to act without first creating tailored frameworks. When 1,290 URLs have already been blocked in a single year, the administrative machinery exists to scale enforcement quickly.

The Imperative for Licensed Pathways

This French action should prompt prediction market operators to treat regulatory clarity as core infrastructure rather than an afterthought. The hybrid nature that fuels innovation also invites varied global responses; those responses are hardening in Europe toward outright blocks for unlicensed entrants.

Client-partners navigating these waters will benefit from early engagement with regulators in jurisdictions still shaping policy. The US CFTC-state dialogue and selected LATAM licensing experiments demonstrate that structured dialogue can produce frameworks preserving innovation while addressing integrity, consumer protection, and revenue concerns.

The structural shift is clear. Markets that resolve definitional ambiguity through licensing will capture the traffic and interest now flowing through unlicensed channels. Those that default to prohibition risk driving activity into less visible, higher-risk environments. Forward-looking operators will read France’s block order as confirmation that compliance architecture must match product ambition if prediction markets are to realise their full potential across regulated economies.