Polymarket banned in Singapore as ‘illegal gambling website’

Singapore’s Remote Gambling Act of 2014 is basically a “no entry” sign for most online betting activities unless you have a government-approved stamp of approval. Unfortunately, Polymarket failed to achieve this.

Polymarket, a decentralized prediction market platform that allows users to speculate on real-world events using cryptocurrency, may add Singapore to its list of unwelcome countries.

Gambling activities are strictly regulated in Singapore; The government only allows certain types of betting, such as lotteries and sports betting, under the supervision of state-run organizations.

The country’s strict gambling laws ban unauthorized online gambling platforms, and Polymarket’s unregulated nature has – as of Saturday, January 11 – received official approval.

Polymarket is printing

Singapore is not the only place to choose from at Polymarket. Other countries, especially those that are serious about gambling laws or have yet to figure out how to deal with decentralized finance (DeFi), are also throwing a legal wrench in the works.

The USA is particularly leading in this regard. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) decided it was time for Polymarket to make some regulatory changes, and they weren’t too kind about it.

Last week, the CFTC announced it had reached a settlement with the company behind Polymarket. The commission’s new chairman, Rostin Behnam, reportedly told the Senate Agriculture Committee that the CFTC is poised to become the “primary cop going forward” when it comes to digital asset markets.

Meanwhile, countries in the EU and parts of Asia, including China, are keeping their distance, making it difficult for users to access Polymarket without encountering several digital barriers.

The platform’s decentralized setup, built on Polygon, an Ethereum (ETH) layer-2 solution, only adds to the headache. In the absence of a central authority to take the blame, governments struggle to put clear legal boundaries around it, especially in places where online gambling laws are strict.