A new framework for border crossings has been introduced in Gibraltar as the UK and the European Union signed an awaited treaty, which is set to come into force on July 15,...
Czech Republic issues blocking order against Polymarket
The government of the Czech Republic has urged Polymarket to stop its operations in the country, issuing a blocking order against the prediction market platform.
Issued by the country’s Ministry of Finance, internet service providers have been instructed to ban access to the Polymarket website for local users within 15 days, with the decision coming after the Czech Republic ruled that prediction markets are classified as illegal gambling products.
Authorities have argued that despite Polymarket presenting itself as an investment tool, it actually offers betting services by purposefully hiding the contract and return structures in its terminology.
Director of the Czech Institute for Gambling Regulation, Jan Řehola, commented:
“Prediction markets aren’t harmless technological novelties. They involve betting on real-world events, often without clear accountability to the state, without standardized player-protection measures, and without the rules that apply to legal gambling. If something looks like a bet, functions like a bet, and allows people to win or lose money depending on the outcome of an uncertain event, we cannot stop treating it as gambling simply because it is called a contract.”
The latest ban for the prediction platform follows in the steps of other major European markets enforcing similar actions, with the latest one being Italy putting Polymarket on the ADM blacklist for the 2nd time. Other jurisdictions, such as France, Romania, Spain, the Netherlands, and Germany, are also among those that have targeted Polymarket’s operations.
On July 13, 2026, the government of Gibraltar announced the adoption of an exclusive regulatory framework for prediction markets, becoming the first-ever jurisdiction to...
