South Korea Reviews Polymarket’s Gambling Status
South Korea’s Korea Communications Standards Commission has begun reviewing prediction market platform Polymarket to determine whether it should be treated as an illegal gambling site under domestic law. The review follows a complaint filed against the platform and comes as regulators examine how other countries have handled it.
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Legal Questions Around Prediction Markets
The commission’s review is not a simple one, since Polymarket operates as a prediction market rather than a conventional betting site. Users stake stablecoins on real-world outcomes such as US elections, interest rate decisions, and crypto prices, then receive returns based on what actually happens.
A commission official told Bloomingbit that the platform requires a more detailed review than a standard gambling site. The official also said Polymarket could still be classified as a new type of gambling-related service, depending on the outcome of the process.
Access And Jurisdiction
The platform is currently available in South Korea without meaningful restrictions and also offers a Korean-language interface. Under Korean communications law, that is enough to bring the platform within the commission’s remit even if its servers are based overseas.
That point gives the regulator a clear basis for examining whether Polymarket is operating in a way that falls under domestic oversight. The issue is being considered alongside how the service is treated in other markets and whether it could be seen as encouraging gambling.
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Wider Market Pressure
The review comes as prediction market trading volumes continue to expand sharply. Figures from Bernstein reported in the Bloomingbit report, worldwide trading volume increased threefold to $51 billion in 2025. This figure is expected to grow to $240 billion this year and $1 trillion by 2030.
South Korea would not be alone in such a move against the exchange. France, Germany, Italy, India, Brazil, Australia, and Argentina have already classified Polymarket as an illegal gambling site and blocked access. In the US, several states, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Nevada have issued cease-and-desist orders or filed lawsuits over sports-event contracts on prediction market platforms.
Possible Enforcement Action
Jin Hyun-soo, managing partner at Decent Law Firm, told Bloomingbit that the commission has the authority to block access to Polymarket if it provides Korean-language services or targets Korean users. He said the platform risks being pushed out of the Korean market entirely if it continues operating without engaging with domestic regulations.
The review places Polymarket at the center of a broader debate over how prediction markets should be classified under gambling law. For South Korean regulators, the key issue now is whether the platform is simply a financial-style market for event outcomes or a gambling service that falls under local restrictions.
Source: Asia Gaming Brief
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