Polymarket encountered regulatory trouble in the Netherlands, where authorities determined that the platform was operating outside legal boundaries. The Dutch gambling regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), issued a formal order, demanding that Polymarket cease its activities within the country or face a hefty fine of up to €840,000 ($994,147). Dutch Penalize Polymarket
According to KSA, Adventure One QSS—the company behind Polymarket—was running the platform in the Netherlands without obtaining the necessary gambling license. The regulator clarified that prediction markets resembling betting games are classified as games of chance and gambling under Dutch law, making licensing compulsory.
Investigations revealed that Dutch players could access Polymarket’s website via local IP addresses. Once on the site, users could register, deposit funds, place bets, and participate in various markets, even viewing potential winnings and withdrawing their earnings. KSA also found that payments from Dutch banks were being accepted, with investigators able to deposit money using Mastercard routed through a Dutch bank, and payment instructions appearing in Dutch.
Further evidence suggested that Polymarket was actively targeting Dutch consumers. The site provided Dutch-language AI customer support, used euros for transactions, and did not list the Netherlands among countries excluded in its terms of use. Additionally, certain betting markets related to Dutch politics, including Dutch cabinet events, were available to Dutch users.
Polymarket’s attempt to defend itself by claiming it was not engaged in traditional gambling was rejected. The platform insisted that it was a legitimate prediction market and exchange, emphasizing that trading prices and settlements were driven by market dynamics and protocol logic rather than chance mechanisms. They argued that the site’s accessibility to Dutch users was passive and insufficient to constitute targeting.
Nevertheless, KSA dismissed this argument, reaffirming that Polymarket was offering games of chance without a license, which is illegal under Dutch law. As a result, the regulator ordered the platform to shut down within four weeks of the ruling issued on January 20. Failure to comply would result in weekly fines of €420,000, with a maximum penalty of €840,000.
Ella Seijsener, KSA’s director of licensing and supervision, stated, “Prediction markets are on the rise, including in the Netherlands. These types of companies offer bets that are not permitted in our market under any circumstances, not even by license holders. Besides the social risks of these kinds of predictions – for example, the potential influence on elections – we conclude that this constitutes illegal gambling. Anyone without a licence has no business in our market. This also applies to these new gambling platforms.”
Polymarket has a history of regulatory issues. Launched in 2020, initially on Ethereum and later migrating to Polygon, the platform focused heavily on US election forecasts and COVID-19-related predictions. Its first major legal challenge came in January 2022 when the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) accused it of offering unregistered binary options contracts. This led to a $1.4 million civil penalty, along with orders to wind down certain markets and tighten compliance measures.
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Despite efforts to improve compliance by restricting certain markets and geo-blocking users from specific regions, Polymarket faced renewed scrutiny during the 2024 US election cycle, with increased traffic drawing attention from regulators at both state and federal levels. States like Nevada and Massachusetts questioned whether certain contracts constituted illegal betting.
In late 2024, French authorities also moved against Polymarket, with l’Autorité Nationale des Jeux blocking access to Polymarket.com for allegedly offering illegal online gambling services in France. Dutch Penalize Polymarket
