South Korea Police Probe Polymarket Over Illegal Gambling Allegations

Polymarket Faces South Korea Police Probe Over Illegal Gambling Allegations

By Kritika Mehta

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Highlights:

• Polymarket users in South Korea are being investigated.
• The probe comes as the country has only one permitted betting site and using other platforms could be considered a punishable offence.
• However, access to Polymarket is yet not restricted in the country.

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South Korea's police have initiated an investigation into Polymarket, an Ethereum-based prediction market platform. Under this crackdown, local users of the platform have been investigated.

South Korean Police Launches Probe Against Polymarket

South Korea's investigation against Polymarket is under the leadership of the Gangwon Provincial Police Agency. The probe was asked by the National Police Agency headquarters, according to local media Chosun Biz report. For this, the police are investigating possible violations of South Korea's gambling law nationwide. It includes a probe against residents in Gangwon Province.

For context, Polymarket is the world's largest prediction market where users can bet on political, economic, and cultural events with crypto. It's legal in the U.S. However, it's not exactly legal in South Korea, where participation is regulated differently. In South Korea, betting is only legal through Sports Toto, the South Korea Sports Promotion Foundation's government-sponsored sports wagering service. Using other wagering websites like Polymarket could be a crime. Punishment for those found guilty of gambling under the Criminal Act includes up to 10 million won ($6,494) in fines.

Ahn Chang-bo, representative attorney at Law Firm Joreon, who is representing some users involved in the investigation, made a few remarks in this case. He said, "It appears that the elements constituting the crime of gambling are met. However, since there have been absolutely no domestic cases of punishment for using polymarkets, it is difficult to predict the level of punishment."

Prediction Platform Usage Still Not Restricted

Although the investigation has been on-going, the use of Polymarket in South Korea has not been restricted. Users can still access it using a VPN or other means of circumvention, because nothing says "legal gray zone" quite like a VPN subscription. "We have not conducted deliberations as no reports or complaints regarding the Polymarket have been received," the Korea Communications Standards Commission said.

Polymarket also doesn't seem to restrict South Korean users from participating using dollar-denominated stablecoins. Therefore, bets topped tens of billions of won on the platform during the pre and post-location elections on June 3. Further, despite betting being legal in the U.S., Pol