France Blocks Polymarket: What the ANJ Order Means

France's gambling regulator, the Autorite Nationale des Jeux, ordered internet service providers to block Polymarket nationwide on July 16 and 17, 2026, ruling that the prediction market platform operates as illegal, unlicensed gambling rather than a financial exchange. The order escalates a fight that began in November 2024, when the ANJ first blocked financial transactions to Polymarket, a restriction that failed to stop 578,751 visits from French users in June 2026 alone.

The French action lands the same week that UK media scrutiny intensified around a Polymarket bettor tied to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, giving European regulators two separate but overlapping reasons to look closely at how prediction markets operate outside traditional gambling law.

Key facts

• Block order date: July 16 to 17, 2026 (source: ANJ, reported by CoinDesk)
• French usage despite funding ban: 578,751 visits from 205,057 unique visitors in June 2026 (source: Similarweb data cited by the ANJ)
• Maximum fine: up to 100,000 euros, about 114,380 US dollars (source: CoinDesk)

What did France's ANJ actually order?

The ANJ ordered French internet service providers to block access to Polymarket's website entirely, moving beyond the financial transaction restrictions it had relied on since 2024. The order treats Polymarket as an unlicensed gambling operator rather than a trading venue, which is the legal basis that lets French regulators demand an ISP level block instead of only restricting payment rails.

Why does the ANJ consider Polymarket illegal gambling rather than a trading platform?

The ANJ ruled that Polymarket's homepage, which dynamically displays live odds on events open to betting, itself functions as a channel for promoting an unauthorized gambling service. "The site's homepage, which dynamically displays real-time odds for various events open to betting, thus serves as a major channel for disseminating and promoting Polymarket's offerings," the regulator said. The ANJ also cited addictive design mechanics, the absence of self-exclusion tools and stake limits, and an incident involving a tampered temperature sensor on a weather related market as evidence the platform behaves like unregulated gambling.

How many French users kept visiting Polymarket after the 2024 funding ban?

Despite the ANJ's November 2024 order blocking financial transactions to Polymarket, the platform still received 578,751 visits from 205,057 unique French visitors in June 2026, according to Similarweb data the ANJ itself cited to justify the tougher block. Many of those users appear to have used VPNs to route around the earlier restrictions, which is a large part of why the regulator escalated to a full website block rather than relying on payment controls alone.

What penalties can France impose for continued access?

Fines connected to the ANJ's enforcement action can reach 100,000 euros, roughly 114,380 US dollars, and the regulator has separately reported blocking 1,290 URLs linked to illegal gambling in 2025 using comparable enforcement processes, giving a sense of the scale at which France already polices unlicensed online betting.

How has Polymarket responded to the French block?

Polymarket said it intends to challenge the order in court. "We are disappointed by the French gaming authority's sudden decision to unilaterally block our website. We intend to challenge this decision," the company said, adding that it wants to "engage constructively" with French authorities. Polymarket has also argued the block wrongly captures users who visit the site purely for information rather than to place bets.

Why is the UK also scrutinizing Polymarket activity right now?

Separately from the French action, UK media attention turned to a Polymarket account trading under the username GCottrell93, linked to George Cottrell, a political aide to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage known publicly as "Posh George." Cottrell lost roughly 655,000 dollars betting on the timing of a US military strike on Iran in February 2026, including a single 550,000 dollar loss on a bet that the strike would not happen by February 28. Across 23 recorded predictions, Cottrell's account still showed net profits of about 3.4 million dollars, including a 4.4 million dollar win betting on the 2024 US presidential election.

Why does George Cottrell's betting activity matter to regulators?

Cottrell's case matters less for the individual wagers than for what it illustrates about who is active on prediction markets and how large the sums involved can be, at a time when UK lawmakers and journalists are already asking questions about Reform UK's financial backers. US Senator Chris Murphy raised a related concern about a separate cluster of accounts, saying "it's insane this is legal" after six accounts collectively earned 1.2 million dollars by accurately betting on the timing of the February 28 Iran strikes hours before they happened, a pattern that fuels the broader argument that prediction markets need clearer gambling style oversight rather than being treated purely as financial products.

How many countries now restrict Polymarket?

France joins more than 30 countries that restrict or block Polymarket in some form, including Switzerland, Poland, Spain, Brazil, Portugal, Romania, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Singapore, and South Korea, along with the United States for most of the period between 2022 and 2025. That scale of restriction sits awkwardly next to Polymarket's reported 15 billion dollar valuation and rival Kalshi's 22 billion dollar valuation, with Kalshi reportedly targeting a 40 billion dollar valuation around a potential future listing.

How does Gibraltar's approach contrast with France's?

While France has moved to block Polymarket outright, Gibraltar has taken the opposite path, becoming the first jurisdiction to create a dedicated regulatory regime specifically for prediction markets, distinct from its existing gambling laws. The contrast underlines how unsettled the global regulatory picture still is: the same product is being treated as banned gambling in France, a distinct new asset class in Gibraltar, and an open legal question everywhere in between, including at the CFTC in the United States.

What does this mean for Polymarket's business going forward?

Losing legal access to a market that generated well over half a million monthly visits is a meaningful hit even for a platform valued at 15 billion dollars, and it adds France to a growing list of jurisdictions where Polymarket must either fight in court, exit the market, or redesign its product to satisfy local gambling law. How the French courts rule on Polymarket's promised challenge will likely shape how other European regulators weighing similar action decide to proceed.

Frequently asked questions

When did France block Polymarket?

France's ANJ ordered internet providers to block Polymarket on July 16 to 17, 2026, escalating from a financial transaction ban that had been in place since November 2024.

Why does France classify Polymarket as illegal gambling?

The ANJ ruled that Polymarket's real time odds display promotes an unauthorized gambling activity and pointed to the absence of self-exclusion tools and stake limits.

How many French visitors did Polymarket still have before the block?

Polymarket recorded 578,751 visits from 205,057 unique French visitors in June 2026, despite the earlier funding restrictions.

What is the Posh George Polymarket story about?

It refers to George Cottrell, a Reform UK aide who lost about 655,000 dollars on Polymarket bets tied to a possible US strike on Iran, drawing UK scrutiny over prediction market betting.

Is Polymarket blocked in other countries besides France?

Yes. More than 30 countries restrict or block Polymarket, including Switzerland, Poland, Spain, and Brazil, while Gibraltar has instead built a dedicated prediction market regulatory framework.

Updated July 2026.

Sources: CoinDesk, SBC News, DL News.