Argentina ordered a nationwide blockade of the prediction market Polymarket after a Buenos Aires court found that the platform operated without local approval and exposed users to gambling-related risks.
The ruling directed internet providers across the country to block access to the website and its associated domain names, local media reported.
It also ordered Apple and Google to remove or restrict Polymarket’s mobile apps for users in the country. The measure was implemented through Argentina’s communications regulator ENACOM.
The case was promoted by the Buenos Aires Municipal Lottery Authority (LOTBA) and supported by casino industry group Câmara Argentina de Salas de Casinos, Bindos y Anexos (CASCBA). Prosecutors said Polymarket itself was a prediction market, but in reality acted like a betting platform where users bet on yes or no outcomes related to politics, inflation, war and other headline events.
The survey attracted attention after Polymarket appeared to point to Argentina’s February inflation data shortly before the official INDEC release. The market saw significant moves ahead of the official release of the data, suggesting some acted on privileged information.
However, authorities said their case focused on the platform’s legal status and consumer protections.
The site allows financing via cryptocurrency and credit cards without strict identity or age checks and allows users to open accounts in minutes, officials said. Prosecutors believe the setup made gambling products more accessible to minors and other vulnerable users.
Previously, many other countries considered Polymarket an unlicensed gambling platform. Prediction markets have restricted or blocked access to users in more than 30 countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Australia and Poland.
In some markets, regulators have gone further. Ukraine earlier this year ordered internet providers to block the site as part of a wider crackdown on online gambling. Dmitry Nikolaievskyi, chief legal officer of the Ukrainian Digital Economy Development Project Office of the Ministry of Digital Transformation, said that currently Polymarket has no legal way to operate in the country.
