South Korean police have reportedly launched the country’s first investigation into local Polymarket users over suspected illegal gambling activity, widening global scrutiny of prediction market platforms.
The investigation is being led by Gangwon Provincial Police at the request of the National Police Agency. Authorities are examining whether South Korean users who traded on Polymarket breached domestic gambling laws.
Under South Korean law, most private gambling is prohibited. Sports Toto is the country’s authorised sports betting platform, while unauthorised online betting can be prosecuted under the Criminal Act. Users found to have taken part in illegal gambling may face fines of up to KRW10m (US$6,500) under Article 246, which covers gambling and habitual gambling.
The reported probe comes after political markets on Polymarket attracted attention in South Korea. One contract asked whether President Lee Jae-myung would leave office in 2026 and had recorded about $54,000 in trading volume, according to platform data cited in reports.
Polymarket remains accessible in South Korea, although the platform is geo-blocked in a number of other jurisdictions, including Singapore, Poland, Portugal, Hungary, Ukraine, Brazil and Indonesia.
The South Korean action adds to mounting international pressure on prediction markets. The issue has become particularly sensitive where prediction markets offer contracts on politics, elections or sporting outcomes. In the US, lawmakers have raised concerns over potential insider trading on prediction platforms, while gambling regulators in several states have challenged whether sports-related contracts fall outside betting law.
Polymarket has said it is considering mandatory ID verification standards as scrutiny increases around market integrity, consumer protection and jurisdictional compliance. But for Polymarket and similar platforms, this is another sign that global expansion is increasingly colliding with national betting controls.
