Italy blocks Polymarket again, Lazio's €19m sponsorship deal at risk
Italy's customs and gambling regulator ADM has blacklisted Polymarket for the second time, blocking access and branding the platform an unlicensed offshore betting operation. The action puts Italian football club Lazio's €19 million sponsorship deal with Polymarket at risk, since advertising unlicensed betting would violate Italian law. The Czech Republic issued a parallel ISP block against Polymarket on the same grounds. Both moves follow ESMA's recent statement that EU retail binary options bans already cover prediction market event contracts.
Polymarket's Lazio sponsorship was a flagship proof point that regulated prediction markets could plug into mainstream European sports. Losing it means the platform no longer has a visible commercial bridge into Italy's football economy. The Czech ISP block, issued the same day, shows ADM's move is not isolated; national regulators are now trading notes on enforcement tactics. For Polymarket, each new blacklist shrinks the addressable market where it can operate without geofencing or local licensing.
The sponsorship collapse also warns other sports franchises away from prediction-market deals, cutting off a growth channel that platforms like Kalshi and DraftKings have explored. Lazio must now scramble for replacement revenue with the season underway, and any clause allowing termination for regulatory action will be tested in Italian courts. ESMA's July 3 warning that EU retail binary options rules already cover prediction-market event contracts set the framework that national regulators are now applying.