Author: CryptoSlate

Translation: Deep Tide TechFlow

Deep Tide Introduction: French regulatory authorities originally only required Polymarket to prohibit French users from trading, yet in June 2026, there were still 578,000 visits from France. This reveals a critical contradiction: on-chain settlement can be decentralized, but ordinary users still need to rely on websites to place orders and monitor market trends—this is the entry point regulators are targeting.

The French gambling regulatory authority has ordered internet service providers to block access to the cryptocurrency prediction market platform Polymarket, stating that the previously limited geographical fences are still being circumvented in practice.

The French National Gambling Authority (ANJ) issued this order on July 17, believing that even though previous restrictions aimed to prevent financial transactions from France, the Polymarket website continues to promote unauthorized gambling services. The regulator cited Similarweb data indicating that the website received 578,751 visits from France and 205,057 unique visitors in June 2026.

This data explains why France upgraded its approach from requiring operators to restrict trading to directly instructing national access service providers to block the main website.

This upgrade also exposes a key limitation of the view that "on-chain markets transcend national jurisdiction": settlement can occur on the blockchain, but mainstream users still rely on systems controlled by websites and operators to discover markets and submit orders.

Failure to End Geographic Fencing for Audiences

This upgrade is not France's first intervention. In November 2024, ANJ stated it had contacted Adventure One QSS Inc. (the identified operating company of Polymarket, registered in Panama), which it previously determined might constitute unauthorized gambling under French law. Subsequently, Adventure One set up geographical blocks, with regulators initially claiming it had blocked betting from France.

ANJ's notice in July 2026 positioned the new order as the next step in the same case. The notice stated that previous control measures prevented financial transactions from within France, but resulted in circumvention behavior in practice. Meanwhile, the Polymarket homepage continues to display live odds to a large French audience.

Refusal of new trading control measures may reduce direct participation, but the website's role in attracting users and disseminating betting prices remains intact. ANJ indicated that the dynamically updating odds on the homepage make it a primary channel for promoting activities that the agency considers illegal.

French law grants regulatory authorities avenues to act against such interfaces. Following statutory notifications and response periods, Article 61 allows ANJ to order access service providers to block access to specific illegal online interfaces and requires search engines or directories to cease referencing them. The regulator stated that 1,290 URLs related to illegal gambling were blocked using this process in 2025.

The result is broader distribution sanctions. France no longer relies on platforms to determine which transactions to refuse, but can exert pressure on domestic networks and discovery services connecting mainstream audiences to platforms.

ANJ bases its case on gambling law rather than the use of cryptocurrency. Its 2024 notice stated that the intervention involves the broader gambling nature of the service.

Its policy statement in February 2026 expanded on this rationale. The regulator categorized prediction markets as unauthorized gambling in France, stating they combine continuous access and viral spread, but with fewer protections than licensed operators. It cited addiction and integrity risks, as well as the lack of identity and age verification, as reasons for restricting access.

The regulator’s argument illustrates why the homepage displaying odds is perceived as not neutral. Real-time prices serve a product marketing function, while identity, age controls, and integrity systems surrounding the market determine whether authorities view it as an acceptable local user service.

Blocking Targets Service Layer, Not Polygon Contract

Polymarket's own documentation clearly distinguishes between distribution and settlement. Its current geographical restriction page lists France as only closed status on the frontend and API. Users in this category can close existing positions but cannot open new ones. The platform hosts its IP qualification checks on polymarket.com, indicating geographical access is enforced through operator-controlled infrastructure.

At the same time, Polymarket describes its central limit order book as a hybrid system. Orders are matched off-chain, while matched trades are atomically settled via trading contracts on Polygon. According to the platform, trades are non-custodial.

The order from France targets access to the website and its service interfaces, not the independent Polygon settlement layer of Polymarket. Nothing in the order indicates that France has disabled the contracts. Its actual leverage is concentrated on making the product accessible and discoverable to ordinary customers.

Reaching a wide audience relies on identifiable frontends, reliable order submission, off-chain matching, geographical eligibility checks, and a compliant posture that enables users and distribution partners to interact with the product.

ISP blocking disrupts this business path. On-chain settlement does not eliminate the need for permissioned distribution: the front door is still where national regulators can exert influence.

The European response remains a patchwork of national actions rather than a single EU-wide ban. ANJ identified 12 European jurisdictions it claims have restricted or blocked prediction markets: Germany, Belgium, Romania, Switzerland, Poland, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic.

Actions across jurisdictions vary. Spain provides a recent example. On May 26, 2026, the country's gambling regulatory authority ordered the blocking of Polymarket and Kalshi websites as a temporary measure during its lawsuit regarding possible unlicensed gambling operations. The Spanish regulator emphasized licensing, identity verification, minor access control, and self-exclusion protections.

This patchwork creates challenging operational choices for prediction markets. Stricter geographical restrictions might reduce immediate regulatory risks, but France’s experience suggests that limitations on transactions alone may not satisfy authorities that view visible odds and audience reach as part of gambling services.

Wider identity checks and consumer protections could address some concerns, while obtaining licenses would require platforms to comply with legal categories that may vary by country.

Recent tests focus on whether Polymarket will change its frontend controls, regulatory posture, or distribution model to retain mainstream access as prediction markets are classified as gambling in more European jurisdictions.

France has demonstrated its area of influence. If regulators can make websites harder to access and raise compliance costs for serving domestic audiences through operator-controlled access and distribution layers, they do not need to change the settlement logic of on-chain markets.