South Korean police have booked 26 users of cryptocurrency prediction platform Polymarket over alleged illegal gambling involving about 17.6 billion won, or roughly $12.7 million.
As of Sept. 15, authorities had referred 18 of those users to prosecutors, according to data obtained from the National Police Agency. The largest individual betting amount reached about 5.7 billion won, highlighting the scale of activity under investigation.
Police have treated the users’ Polymarket activity as illegal gambling under South Korean law. However, the legal classification of prediction-market trading remains contested, with users arguing that the platform operates more like a financial or cryptocurrency-based market than a conventional gambling service.
How Police Traced the Users
South Korean investigators used publicly available blockchain transaction records and open-source intelligence techniques to identify and track Polymarket users.
Polymarket allows participants to trade contracts tied to the outcomes of political, economic, social and other events. Traders can take positions on whether an event will occur, with the value of their positions changing according to market expectations.
The investigation marks a broader test of how South Korean authorities apply existing gambling rules to blockchain-based prediction markets.
Regulatory Pressure Mounts
South Korea has already taken steps to restrict domestic access to Polymarket. In August, the country’s communications regulator approved blocking access to the platform, citing concerns that its winner-takes-all structure and event-based contracts could encourage speculative gambling behavior.
Polymarket has disputed that characterization. The company has argued that its system uses noncustodial, peer-to-peer transactions and automated settlement through blockchain technology.
The latest cases could therefore become an important legal test for cryptocurrency prediction markets in South Korea. The prosecution process may help determine whether authorities and courts view these contracts primarily as gambling or as a form of digital-asset trading.
