South Korea’s Broadcasting, Media and Communications Review Committee announced it will hear Polymarket’s position before deciding whether to issue a corrective request against the platform over illegal gambling concerns tied to its predictive operations.
The regulatory authority aims to thoroughly verify the operational legality of these predictive systems. This review marks a strategic shift in oversight, moving regulatory scrutiny from local users directly toward the global platform infrastructure built upon blockchain technology.
The official committee will provide an opportunity for the firm to submit its formal opinion. This scrutiny is grounded in the National Gambling Control Commission Act, which prohibits online services enabling speculative gambling within South Korean borders.
Previously, on June 5, 2026, the Gangwon Provincial Police launched the country’s first criminal gambling probe into local platform users. The National Police Agency requested the investigation following the emergence of speculative prediction markets linked directly to local political elections.
Penalties defined under the Criminal Act of Korea punish illegal gambling with fines reaching up to 10 million won. The legal framework also dictates sentences of up to three years in prison or 20 million won fines for habitual gambling offenses.
Furthermore, South Korean criminal legislation establishes that operating a gambling venue for profit carries severe legal consequences. Convicted individuals face potential prison sentences of up to five years in prison or maximum statutory fines of up to 30 million won.
This regulatory evaluation coincides with heightened international enforcement across the decentralized finance or Defi sector. Multiple global jurisdictions have started enforcing stricter compliance protocols on international prediction market platforms and smart contract betting applications.
Currently, the platform enforces strict geoblocking across multiple sovereign territories to comply with local financial laws. According to Polymarket’s geoblocking documentation, user access is completely restricted across 33 countries due to anti-money laundering frameworks.
Excluded jurisdictions unable to access the prediction platform include the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Additionally, participants located in Brazil, Singapore, Japan, and Australia remain completely barred from participating in the platform’s betting markets online.
The technology firm states these geographical restriction policies are deployed to adhere to international sanctions and financial rules. The guidelines require robust customer identification procedures and identity verification to minimize regulatory risks associated with unauthorized prediction pools.
Beyond national prohibitions, the prediction platform implements specific regional bans within certain North American and European nations. These localized exclusions directly impact the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec due to separate provincial securities regulations.
Similarly, user access is prohibited in regions subject to ongoing geopolitical conflicts or international economic sanctions. The blacklisted territories encompass the Crimea peninsula alongside the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Ukraine, following compliance parameters set by the service operator.
The Broadcasting Review Committee expects to receive Polymarket’s formal response documentation over the coming weeks of this quarter. A definitive decision regarding local network blocks or corrective mandates in the Asian nation will be issued after completing this technical review.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
