South Korean Police Refer 18 Polymarket Users to Prosecutors

September 17 — According to Cointelegraph, South Korean police have launched an investigation into illegal gambling on Polymarket, involving 26 users with total bets of approximately 1.76 billion KRW (about $12.7 million), with the highest single-user wager reaching 570 million KRW (about $4.1 million). Currently, the Gangwon Provincial Police Agency has referred 18 users to prosecutors.

Police identified the involved users by analyzing public blockchain transaction records. South Korean authorities determined that Polymarket trading violates gambling provisions under the Criminal Act and blocked the platform on August 18. Polymarket, for its part, argued that it operates as a crypto derivatives investment market and does not offer Korean-language services or KRW payments, but these defenses were not accepted by the authorities.

[TechFlow]