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France blocks Polymarket, platform vows court challenge after July 16 order

France blocks Polymarket, platform vows court challenge after July 16 order

France’s ANJ said Polymarket was still promoting illegal gambling and cited loss, identity-check and market-manipulation risks, while Polymarket said it had stopped French trading in November 2024 and would challenge the site block.

Fact Check
The Reuters litigation report confirms Polymarket intends to legally challenge France's ANJ decision to block its website, calling it 'unilateral' — directly supporting the 'platform vows court challenge' element. Multiple secondary sources (Crypto Briefing, crypto.news, Bitget) confirm the ANJ ordered ISPs to block Polymarket on July 16, 2026, following an earlier November 2024 payments/transaction ban. The claim's detail that Polymarket had already stopped French residents from trading in November 2024 and only allowed local access to market data aligns with its reported defense that it is an 'information platform, not a gambling site.' The framing that full site-blocking was an 'unexpected escalation' is consistent with Polymarket's 'unilateral' characterization in Reuters. All core factual elements are corroborated across a primary wire service and multiple independent outlets.
Summary

France has moved to block access to Polymarket, intensifying a wider debate over whether prediction markets should be regulated as gambling, derivatives or a separate category. On July 16, 2026, ANJ President Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin ordered French internet service providers to restrict access to the platform, and Polymarket said on July 22 it would challenge the decision in French court. Polymarket said it had stopped French residents from trading in November 2024 and only allowed local access to odds and market data, making the full site block unexpected. The ANJ said the platform was still promoting illegal gambling under French law and flagged risks tied to customer losses, identity checks and market manipulation, including concerns around suspected insider information in some weather-related markets. The case comes as prediction platforms face rising scrutiny in Europe and the United States over customer protection, market integrity and the legal status of event contracts.

Terms & Concepts
  • prediction markets: Platforms where users trade contracts tied to future event outcomes, with prices reflecting changing market expectations.
  • event contracts: Tradable contracts whose value depends on whether a specific event occurs, such as an election result or sports outcome.
  • market manipulation: Actions that distort prices or trading activity.