South Korean police have charged 26 local Polymarket users on suspicion of illegal gambling, according to a report by The Block. The cyber investigation unit of the Gangwon Provincial Police Agency has sent 18 of the accused to prosecutors. The 26 individuals placed a combined total of about 17.6 billion won, or 12.7 million dollars, in bets on the prediction market, with the largest cumulative stake by a single user at about 5.7 billion won, or 4.1 million dollars. Police said that betting on yes-or-no event prediction contracts on Polymarket constitutes illegal gambling under Article 246 of the country's Criminal Act, because users stake their own assets on outcomes they cannot control. The accused argue that Polymarket should be viewed as a cryptocurrency-based derivatives market rather than gambling, since contracts on the platform are traded through buy and sell orders and positions can be closed before expiry. That distinction is expected to become a key issue if the cases go to court. The news comes about a month after South Korea's media regulator ordered access to Polymarket blocked from within the country, after determining that the platform creates an environment for illegal gambling.
South Korean police charged 26 Polymarket users with illegal gambling and the media regulator ordered the platform blocked, a regulatory crackdown on the company.
