The Czech Ministry of Finance has added prediction market platform Polymarket to its list of unauthorized internet games, ordering internet service providers to block access within 15 days. The listing, published on July 13 by the ministry’s Department of Procedural Agendas and Gambling Regulation, classifies Polymarket as an unlicensed gambling operator.
“This is not about banning innovation,” said Jan Řehola, director of the Institute for the Regulation of Gambling. “It’s about ensuring that the same rules apply to everyone who offers betting for money.” The move makes the Czech Republic the latest European jurisdiction to restrict Polymarket, joining Germany, Belgium, Romania, France, the Netherlands, and others that have taken similar enforcement actions. Outside Europe, regulators in Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand have also moved against the platform.
The European crackdown coincides with ongoing U.S. regulatory scrutiny. A Polymarket-affiliated entity has filed with the National Futures Association to offer regulated margin trading, pending further CFTC approvals, while senators have called for an investigation into alleged fake betting promotions. Despite these pressures, combined monthly trading volumes across Kalshi, Polymarket, and Polymarket US surged 75% in June to $44.8 billion, driven partly by 2026 FIFA World Cup activity.
Polymarket settles contracts using the USDC stablecoin through blockchain-based smart contracts, but Czech authorities maintain that the underlying activity still falls under gambling rules, regardless of its technical structure.
