Singaporean authorities have labeled Polymarket an “illegal gambling site” and have decided to shut it down in the city-state. Currently, Singaporeans seeking to access crypto betting platforms will see a notice from the country’s Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA).
“Polymarket is officially defined as a gambling website in Singapore,” Alex Zuo, Kobo Global’s vice president of investments and custody, wrote on X (translated from Mandarin), adding that the Polymarket.com domain pointed out a newly displayed notification. “If you want to bet, you have no choice but to go to a state-run gambling company, otherwise you face fines and jail time.”
Polymarket is officially located in Bocai 网网竑，设计也应力织营营网网商哦，未则面临罚款和网结哦 pic.twitter.com/VdoozWAVgE
— alexzuo🫡 (@alexzuo4) January 12, 2025
Severe penalties for polymarket bettors
In fact, Singapore imposes a fine of S$10,000 or up to six months in prison, or both, for anyone found guilty of gambling on an unlicensed platform. Unlicensed gambling operators face a fine of S$500,000 and imprisonment of up to seven years, while repeat offenders face a stiffer fine of S$700,000 and imprisonment of up to 10 years, the GRA said. .
“It is unlawful for any person to provide unauthorized remote gambling services to Singapore residents from within or outside Singapore, or from outside Singapore,” the GRA stated on its website.
Additionally, Singapore has given its police the power to block access to “illegal remote gambling services, advertising of such services, and payment transactions” from 1 January 2025.
Since 2015, Singapore authorities have blocked more than 3,800 gambling websites and 145,000 transactions totaling more than S$37 million, according to GRA.
The only legal gambling platform in the South Asian country is Singapore Pools, which offers a variety of gambling services, including lotteries, sports betting, and horse racing betting. However, the political event contracts that contributed to the popularity of the polymarket are missing.
Polymarkets face strict regulations
Polymarket facilitates betting on event contracts using cryptocurrencies. The platform runs on the Polygon blockchain. Services cannot be legally offered to U.S. citizens and residents. However, according to Similarweb, over 29% of Polymarket’s traffic comes from the US.
Last November, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation also searched the home of Polymarket CEO Shane Coplan and seized his cellphone. Polymarket is suspected of allowing US users to bet on events, and the Justice Department is investigating.
The cryptocurrency platform also blocked access for users in France following reports of an investigation into violating local gambling laws.
This article was written by Arnab Shome from www.financemagnates.com.
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