Czech ISP Block Extends European Polymarket Crackdown

The Czech Ministry of Finance has ordered local internet service providers to block access to prediction market Polymarket within 15 days. The July 13 listing by the Department of Procedural Agendas and Gambling Regulation places the platform on the country's official register of unauthorized internet games.

This mandate makes the Czech Republic the latest European jurisdiction to effectively bar the crypto-based platform from operating domestically. Polymarket already faces access restrictions or outright blocks across Europe, including in Germany, Belgium, Spain, Poland, and Switzerland. Similar enforcement actions have also been enacted in Romania, Greece, Cyprus, Portugal, Ukraine, and Brazil.

The regulatory sweep is predicated on a fundamental rejection of how prediction markets classify their products. While platforms market their offerings as event contracts, authorities in the Netherlands, the UK, and France maintain these instruments are subject to traditional gambling rules.

"This is not about banning innovation," said Jan Řehola, director of the Institute for the Regulation of Gambling. "It's about ensuring that the same rules apply to everyone who offers betting for money." The institute publicly highlighted the Czech finance ministry's decision on Tuesday.

The accelerating European blockade stands in stark contrast to the platform's surging trading volumes. Combined monthly volume across Polymarket and rival Kalshi reached $44.8 billion in June. This represents a 75% jump from $25.7 billion in May, a spike fueled by heightened betting activity surrounding the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

While European regulators treat the platform as an illicit bookmaker, Polymarket is simultaneously attempting to formalize its operations in the United States. An affiliated entity recently filed applications with the National Futures Association to offer regulated margin trading. This strategy requires additional approvals from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

That American pivot is facing its own political and regulatory scrutiny. In June, Senators John Curtis and Adam Schiff formally called on the CFTC to investigate the platform. Their request followed a Wall Street Journal report alleging the use of fake betting promotions by social media creators.

For market professionals, the situation underscores the structural compliance risks embedded in the prediction market sector. Operators are trapped in a fragmented global environment where identical products attract billions in capital while simultaneously triggering outright bans under established gambling statutes.