Polymarket users face gambling investigation in South Korea
South Korean police are investigating Polymarket users for potential violations of national gambling laws.Summary
The Gangwon Provincial Police Agency has launched South Korea's first known investigation into domestic users of Polymarket, a blockchain-based prediction market. Authorities are examining whether bets placed on real-world events, such as elections and economic data, violate Article 246 of the Criminal Act, which prohibits most private betting services.
While the platform operates via decentralized smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain, the investigation focuses on individual users rather than the platform itself. This move follows a trend of South Korean authorities applying existing laws to decentralized networks, such as recent prosecutions involving decentralized exchanges.
The legal outcome remains uncertain as there is no domestic precedent for punishing Polymarket use. Meanwhile, prediction markets continue to face global regulatory scrutiny, including recent insider trading charges in the United States.
(Source：Crypto News)