Argentina ordered a nationwide block of prediction marketplace Polymarket after a Buenos Aires court ruled the platform was operating without local approval and exposing users to gambling risks.
The decision orders internet service providers across the country to block access to the site and its associated domains, according to local media.
It also ordered Apple and Google to remove or restrict Polymarket’s mobile apps for users in the country. The measure is implemented through ENACOM, Argentina’s communications regulator.
The case was defended by the Buenos Aires City Lottery, or LOTBA, and supported by casino industry group Câmara Argentina de Salas de Casinos, Bindos y Anexos (CASCBA). Prosecutors said Polymarket presents itself as a prediction market, but in practice functions as a betting platform, where users bet money on outcomes whether or not related to politics, inflation, wars and other major events.
The survey attracted attention after Polymarket appeared to point the finger at Argentina’s February inflation figure shortly before INDEC’s official release. This market saw a major shift before the data was officially released, suggesting that some acted on insider information.
However, the authorities said they focused their argument on the legal status of the platform and consumer guarantees.
Officials said the site allowed funding through cryptocurrencies and credit cards, did not enforce strict identity or age checks and allowed users to open accounts in minutes. Prosecutors argued that this setup made it easier for minors and other vulnerable users to access gaming products.
This move follows a plethora of other countries treating Polymarket as an unlicensed gaming platform. The prediction market already restricts or blocks access to users in more than 30 countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Australia and Poland.
In some markets, regulators have gone further. Ukraine ordered internet providers to block the site earlier this year, as part of a wider crackdown on online betting. There is currently no legal way for Polymarket to operate in this country, according to Dmitry Nikolaievskyi, legal director of the Project Office for the Development of the Digital Economy of Ukraine at the Ministry of Digital Transformation.
