South Korean Police Target 26 Polymarket Users in Betting Crackdown

The Gangwon Provincial Police Agency initiated the probe by tracking public blockchain transactions, as the platform’s non-custodial structure prevents the acquisition of traditional customer lists. Investigators identified users through open-source intelligence tools, uncovering a wide disparity in activity levels, with one individual reported to have wagered up to 5.7 billion won.

Police rely on Article 246 of the Criminal Act, which penalizes wagering property on uncertain outcomes. While users under investigation argue that Polymarket functions as a virtual asset-based derivatives market, authorities maintain that the platform’s winner-takes-all settlement model falls squarely under gambling statutes. This legal friction aligns with the August 18 decision by the Broadcasting, Media and Communications Review Committee to block domestic access to the site, dismissing claims that a peer-to-peer structure exempts the platform from local oversight. Despite the referrals, no court has yet issued a definitive ruling on whether these probability contracts qualify as derivatives or illegal gambling.