South Korean police launch first illegal gambling probe into Polymarket users
South Korean police have launched the country's first illegal gambling investigation into local users of Polymarket, the crypto-native prediction market platform, according to June 5 reports. The probe targets individuals rather than the platform itself and examines whether trades on the platform constitute illegal gambling under South Korean law. The investigation comes amid heightened scrutiny of election-related betting activity on Polymarket and adds to the regulatory pressure the platform already faces from U.S. authorities. No details on the scope of the investigation, number of users involved, or potential penalties were disclosed.
Polymarket traders in South Korea now face potential criminal gambling charges rather than civil regulatory penalties, flipping the risk model for crypto-native prediction market participation in Asia's fourth-largest economy. Any convictions would give other Asian regulators a ready template for classifying prediction market trading as criminal gambling.