Czechia Blocks Polymarket as Unlicensed Gambling, Ordering a 15-Day ISP Shutdown
The Czech Republic has become the latest European country to block Polymarket, adding the crypto-based prediction market to its official list of unauthorized internet games on July 13. Internet service providers now have 15 days to cut access to the platform, according to the country’s Institute for Gambling Regulation.
The Czech Finance Ministry maintains the blocklist, which already includes several thousand websites. The decision echoes a broader European regulatory stance: prediction markets, regardless of their structure, are treated as unlicensed gambling. Jan Řehola, director of the Institute for Gambling Regulation, noted that legal gambling allows state oversight of operators, participants, suspicious bets, and player protection mechanisms. In contrast, prediction markets open betting on virtually any event—from weather to political decisions—without comparable supervision, creating risks of market manipulation and insider trading.
Polymarket operates as a decentralized exchange settling in USDC stablecoin, placing it outside standard licensing frameworks. This structural issue has led to restrictions across the EU. Italy recently re-added Polymarket to its blocked list, and the Netherlands rejected the platform’s appeal. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) also warned that event contracts meeting the definition of financial instruments are already barred from retail sale under binary-options rules.
However, a few jurisdictions are moving in the opposite direction. Gibraltar this week launched the world’s first dedicated regulatory regime for prediction markets, carving the sector out of general gambling law. Malta has indicated it is exploring a similar framework. This creates a widening European split: most regulators block prediction markets as unlicensed gambling, while a small number compete to become regulated hubs amid record trading volumes driven partly by the World Cup.
The Czech decision underscores the ongoing tension between innovation and regulation in the crypto space, as prediction markets face increasing scrutiny across Europe.