Polymarket given cease-and-desist warning in the Netherlands

[The Buzz]

Prediction market operator Polymarket has been ordered to exit the Netherlands after the country’s gambling regulator ruled its offering unlawful.

The Dutch Gambling Authority, Kansspelautoriteit, said it will impose a penalty of €420,000 per week, capped at €840,000, if the company does not halt its activities immediately.

Polymarket is also facing regulatory scrutiny in the United States, where its status has drawn attention from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, while it does not fall neatly within many existing state-level sports betting frameworks.

From the press release:

Ella Seijsener, director of licensing and supervision at the Netherlands Gambling Authority (Ksa): "Prediction markets are on the rise, including in the Netherlands. These types of companies offer bets that are not permitted in our market under any circumstances, not even by license holders. Besides the social risks of these kinds of predictions (for example, the potential influence on elections), we conclude that this constitutes illegal gambling. Anyone without a Ksa license has no business in our market. This also applies to these new gambling platforms."

Read more: https://www.gpwa.org/article/polymar...rom-ksa-262602