South Korea Orders Polymarket Block Over Gambling Concerns

Bottom line: South Korea's communications review body has ordered local internet service providers to block access to Polymarket. The committee concluded that the platform facilitates gambling under Korean law, despite Polymarket removing its Korean-language service and arguing that its crypto-based market structure falls outside conventional betting rules. The order targets access to the website; it is not a ban on cryptocurrency or an automatic cancellation of Polymarket contracts worldwide.

The Cointelegraph alert is accurate, but the practical rollout needs one qualification: regulators have made the blocking decision, while access may not disappear on every Korean network at exactly the same moment.

South Korea’s Broadcasting, Media and Communications Review Committee said internet providers will block Polymarket after it reviewed the platform’s service model and heard its defense. Korea JoongAng Daily reported the final decision on August 18.

Why South Korea is blocking Polymarket

The committee treated Polymarket as more than a website that displays forecasts. Users put money behind event outcomes and can win or lose value based on politics, economics, international affairs, sports, elections and weather—events the trader does not control.

According to the committee, that structure falls within information that facilitates gambling or provides a venue for it under the Criminal Act. It also raised the National Sports Promotion Act, which restricts unauthorized sports-betting activity.

The regulator cited Korea-specific markets as evidence that the service remained relevant to local users. One example was a contract on Seoul’s rainfall in August. The point was not that weather forecasting itself is illegal. It was that users could stake money on the result through an overseas platform not authorized as a Korean betting operator.

Before reaching the decision, the committee said it consulted the National Police Agency, the National Gambling Control Commission and the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation. Those agencies took the view that Polymarket’s operation could qualify as gambling or the operation of a gambling venue under Korean law.

What Polymarket argued

Polymarket had already reduced its Korean-facing presence before the block.

At the end of July, the platform removed Korean from its language menu and stopped prominently surfacing Korea-focused markets to users in the country. The underlying contracts were still visible on its global pages, but the localized discovery layer had been pulled back.

In its response to the review, Polymarket argued that:

• it no longer provided a Korean-language service;
• it did not accept payments in Korean won;
• it did not directly collect or manage users’ funds; and
• it did not issue conventional sports-betting tickets.

The committee rejected the idea that those product details placed the service beyond Korean law. Its position was that an overseas company cannot avoid local rules solely through its technical architecture, payment asset or language settings when the service remains available to Korean users.

That closes the regulatory path Polymarket appeared to be pursuing when it removed localization. Reducing local marketing was not enough to prevent an access-block order.

Is Polymarket already inaccessible across South Korea?

The legal decision has been made and Korean internet providers are expected to implement it. Reports on the decision did not set out one synchronized cutoff time for every fixed-line and mobile network, so users may see uneven access while providers apply the order.

There is also a temporary mismatch between the Korean decision and Polymarket’s own compliance page. As of August 19, Polymarket’s official geographic-restrictions list named 39 fully blocked countries but did not include South Korea. That list may change as the company responds to the order.

Polymarket explicitly prohibits using VPNs or similar tools to evade geographic restrictions. Boxmining does not recommend trying to bypass either a government access block or the platform’s location controls.

What happens to Korean users with open positions?

An ISP block stops ordinary access to a domain from covered networks. It does not by itself erase an onchain position, resolve a market or guarantee a refund.

The public reporting did not specify how Polymarket will handle existing positions held by people physically located in South Korea. Other restricted jurisdictions sometimes receive “close-only” treatment, but South Korea was not listed in Polymarket’s close-only table when this article was published. Users should not assume that another country’s policy will be copied.

Anyone with an existing position should preserve transaction records, use Polymarket’s official support channel and obtain Korean legal advice where necessary. Do not send funds to an unofficial “recovery” service or share a seed phrase with anyone claiming they can unlock a position.

The block also does not remove Korea-related contracts from the global market. Traders outside South Korea may still be able to view or trade them, subject to their own location and Polymarket’s current rules.

Could Korean Polymarket users face penalties?

The access decision is aimed at the platform, but it arrives alongside scrutiny of users.

In June, Gangwon Provincial Police reportedly opened South Korea’s first investigation into local Polymarket users over alleged illegal gambling connected to election markets. The National Police Agency requested the probe. The investigation and the website block are separate processes: one considers user conduct, while the other restricts the service’s availability.

Under South Korea’s Criminal Act, ordinary gambling can carry a fine of up to 10 million won. Habitual gambling can carry up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won. Operating a gambling venue for profit can carry up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won. Application depends on the facts, and an investigation is not a conviction.

This also means the block should not be read as a general prohibition on crypto trading. South Korea regulates digital-asset exchanges and is developing broader rules for the sector. The committee’s objection is to staking value on uncertain event outcomes through an unauthorized venue, not to USDC or blockchain technology by itself.

Why this matters beyond one website

South Korea is a major digital-asset market, which makes this a meaningful test of where regulators draw the line between a market and a bet.

Prediction-market supporters argue that prices aggregate dispersed information and can outperform polls or pundits. Regulators focus on the same product’s payoff structure: a trader risks money on an event they cannot control, and one side’s gain depends on the final result.

South Korea has chosen the gambling frame. That approach is consistent with a growing group of jurisdictions that have restricted Polymarket, even as other markets explore treating event contracts as regulated financial products.

For Polymarket, the warning is that removing local language, avoiding local currency and settling through self-custodied crypto may not be enough. Authorities can look through the interface to the economic substance of the trade.

For readers who want to understand the venue without placing money at risk, see our Polymarket review and paper-trading-first guide to Polymarket data.

South Korea Polymarket block FAQ

Did South Korea ban Polymarket?

South Korea's communications review body ordered local internet service providers to block access to Polymarket. It is an access restriction directed at the website, not a shutdown of the platform worldwide.

Why did South Korea classify Polymarket as gambling?

The committee said users risk money on outcomes such as politics, sports, elections and weather that they cannot control. It concluded that the service facilitates gambling or provides a gambling venue under Korean law.

Did removing Korean-language support prevent the block?

No. Polymarket removed Korean localization and reduced the visibility of Korea-focused markets, but the committee said technical design and language choices do not by themselves exempt a service from Korean law.

Are existing Polymarket positions automatically refunded?

No automatic refund policy for South Korean users was announced with the block. An ISP restriction does not itself resolve or erase a position. Users should keep records and contact Polymarket through official support.

Is cryptocurrency banned in South Korea?

No. The decision concerns a prediction-market service that regulators classified as gambling-related. It is not a general ban on cryptocurrencies, stablecoins or blockchain applications.

Can users bypass the Polymarket block with a VPN?

Polymarket's own geographic-restrictions policy prohibits VPNs and similar tools used to evade location controls. Users should follow local law and the platform's terms rather than attempting to bypass the restriction.

Sources and methodology

This article began with Cointelegraph’s August 18 alert and checked it against Korea JoongAng Daily’s report on the final decision. The regulatory timeline was cross-checked against Cointelegraph’s July report on the committee review, Korea Economic Daily’s report on Polymarket removing Korean localization, the Korea Legislation Research Institute’s National Gambling Control Commission Act and Polymarket’s current geographic-restrictions page. The implementation caveat reflects the difference between a regulator issuing an access-block decision and every ISP applying it at the same instant.

Legal and financial disclosure: This article is general information, not legal or investment advice. Gambling and prediction-market rules depend on jurisdiction and can change quickly. Do not use technical workarounds to evade access controls, and never share wallet seed phrases with support or recovery services.