Overview
- The Autorité nationale des jeux announced on Friday, July 17, 2026 that it has blocked access from France to Polymarket after previously banning financial transactions on the site.
- ANJ said Polymarket’s homepage showed dynamic, real‑time odds that could be treated as advertising for an unlicensed gambling service and that anyone promoting such content can face fines of up to €100,000.
- The regulator cited the platform’s large French audience, reporting 578,751 visits and 205,057 unique visitors in June, as a key reason for moving from a transaction ban to an access block.
- Separately, Météo‑France filed a complaint about an altered temperature probe linked to weather bets and the Paris prosecutor’s cybercrime unit opened an investigation on May 4, 2026 that was entrusted to the Office anti‑cybercriminalité.
- European regulators have taken mixed approaches to prediction markets and France’s action could push other states to tighten enforcement, while French users now face access limits and platforms face higher legal and technical scrutiny.