The Dutch regulator Kansspelautoriteit has rejected an appeal by Adventure One QSS Inc, the operator of Polymarket, and upheld sanctions for providing unlicensed services to players in the Netherlands.
In January, KSA ruled that Polymarket allowed Dutch users to place bets on the outcomes of future events, which falls under the definition of gambling under local law. Dutch regulation treats political and other non-sports event betting as gambling and requires a licence.
On 23 June, KSA issued a new decision threatening financial sanctions if the operator did not cease operations in the country. Adventure One was given four weeks to shut down but missed the 17 February deadline and implemented an IP block only the following day. Penalties began accruing automatically.
The operator filed an appeal in March, demanding the sanctions be overturned and legal costs reimbursed. It argued the platform was merely an interface to a decentralised protocol on the Polygon blockchain, where users trade peer-to-peer through crypto wallets. Adventure One cited the position of European financial regulator ESMA, which this week acknowledged that certain contracts fall under binary options regulation.
KSA rejected the arguments. The regulator stated that the presence of blockchain and crypto does not exempt a service from gambling law. In its marketing, Polymarket used the word 'betting' and the slogan 'Stay informed and profit from your knowledge by betting on future events'. The platform was accessible via Dutch IP addresses, offered support in Dutch and featured markets on local politicians and athletes. Political betting is prohibited in the Netherlands.
Last month, nine European regulators announced a joint campaign against unlicensed prediction platforms, citing risks to players and market integrity.
