On June 1, the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) announced that Judge Woodbury granted its motion for a preliminary injunction against prediction market platform Polymarket....
Polymarket strengthens VPN & ID checks after regulatory push
Polymarket has introduced new measures to strengthen identity controls by blocking players who use VPN services to bypass restrictions and has launched ID checks for high-stakes traders.
The move from the platform’s initial permissionless structure comes after increased regulatory criticism and many countries banning Polymarket for domestic users. The operator is expected to block VPN IP addresses and flag accounts that appear to be accessing the platform from restricted geolocations.
Polymarket states on its website:
“Polymarket strictly prohibits the use of VPNs or similar tools to bypass geographic restrictions. Such actions are considered violations of the platform’s Terms of Service (Section 2.1.4). Users are required to comply with these guidelines to avoid penalties.”
Currently, 33 countries have imposed full bans on the prediction market.
Regarding the identity verifications, Polymarket has introduced a beta product that requires ID checks for select users. High-volume users who trade significant amounts of money or have fast deposit-trade-withdraw cycles are being ordered to provide government identification and go through KYC checks. The restructuring from an anonymous model that allowed users to trade with almost no personal documentation to a system with mandatory ID verifications is the result of rising compliance risks. However, Polymarket hasn’t yet revealed the full timeline or scope of implementation for the identity controls.
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged Google software engineer Michele Spagnuolo with gaining over $1.2 million by using insider information to trade on Polymarket.
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