In a surprising turn of events, police in Thailand suggested blocking the Polymarket website on January 14. The move comes at a time when other nations across the globe have also decided to ban the betting platform.
Polymarket, the global website that offers prediction services in a variety of categories, including politics, sports, entertainment, and the economics has faced a bone of contention with the Thai police, as it possesses the traits of illicit internet gambling in Thailand.
Polymarket Accused of engaging in Unlawful Online Gambling in Thailand
Local media reports suggest that, the commander of the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) of Thailand is getting ready to suggest shutting down “Polymarket,” which uses cryptocurrencies to wager on significant global events.
Cryptocurrency is being utilized as a medium for transactions, and the current era has evolved into the Web 3.0 era, which makes inspection and monitoring more complex and challenging.
Since using cryptocurrencies for trading and betting is banned in Thailand, the Polymarket website—a global platform that offers a range of prediction services including those related to politics, sports, entertainment, and economics—was discovered to be engaging in unlawful online gambling.
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Polymarket’s Ban in Other Countries
Thailand’s moves stay in tandem with other nations, which have also banned Polyamarket in the previous months.
Previously, Singapore had formally barred the cryptocurrency betting platform since it was not licensed in the city-state. In keeping with other countries that have also had issues with the online betting platform, the ban prevents its citizens from using it.
Due to the substantial amounts of money wagered on Ploymarket during the 2024 US elections, the French government had also declared that it was getting ready to outlaw the platform.
The French National Gaming Authority (ANJ) blocked Polymarket after it reportedly saw $3.5 billion in trade activity during the U.S. presidential election.
In keeping with this theme, Taiwan prohibited access to Polymarket in 2024 and even prosecuted a man who wagered roughly $530 on political elections via the Internet.
Additionally prohibited by Polymarket’s terms of service are users from Bolivia, Venezuela, Iran, and other countries.
The online bookmaker Polymarket has frequently been criticized by a number of regulators. Despite the fact that the US elections of 2024 generated a lot of activity on Polymarket, the platform is not legally allowed to offer services to US users.
In 2022, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) penalized the site $1.4 million for violating rules pertaining to event-based binary options marketing.
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