Polymarket challenges ANJ website block in French courts
Polymarket is challenging in French courts a website block imposed by France's gambling regulator, the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ). The ANJ ordered internet providers to block access to Polymarket, deeming prediction markets unauthorized under French gambling law. Polymarket says it will fight the block in court. The legal challenge tests France's authority over prediction markets. The sources do not specify what triggered the ANJ action or when the block was imposed.
Polymarket must now choose between expensive jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction litigation and abandoning EU retail users entirely. The French court challenge follows ANJ orders that leave no room to restructure contracts or seek local licensing before users are cut off. France represents a major European retail market where the platform had nearly 580,000 monthly visits. The ANJ cited market integrity concerns alongside gambling losses, suggesting regulators may treat prediction markets as financial products with unique risks rather than simple betting.
Polymarket already faces parallel Czech and Irish blocks using identical mechanisms. Each new blacklist shrinks the addressable market where the platform can operate without local legal fights. Rival platforms face identical risk: national regulators are trading notes on enforcement tactics and rejecting CFTC-regulated status outright. The cost of fighting rises with every new jurisdiction added to the list.