South Korea reviews Polymarket for gambling compliance

South Korean regulators have opened a formal review to determine whether the blockchain-based prediction market platform Polymarket violates the country's strict gambling laws, delaying any immediate enforcement action. The Korea Communications Standards Commission's (KCSC) Communications Review Subcommittee made the decision during a meeting on July 6, opting to first hear the platform operator's position before deciding on issuing a corrective request.

The review centers on whether Polymarket's service model, which allows users to trade binary contracts on real-world events using cryptocurrency, constitutes illegal speculative gambling under South Korean law. Officials stated this step is necessary to thoroughly verify the legality of the service and its operational structure. The outcome could set a significant precedent for how the country regulates offshore, blockchain-based prediction platforms.

This regulatory scrutiny follows a separate police investigation launched in early June. At that time, Gangwon Provincial Police began examining local Polymarket users over alleged illegal gambling connected to election-related prediction markets, an investigation reportedly...