The Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) has decided to wait for an official response from prediction market platform Polymarket before taking any action.
South Korea has become the latest jurisdiction to enter into a dispute with the business over alleged illegal gambling.
Yesterday, the KCSC’s Communications Review Subcommittee came to the conclusion that it would give the US operator the opportunity to state its position before making a decision on whether or not to demand corrective measures.
It follows the news that came last month, when Gangwon Provincial Police launched the country’s first illegal gambling probe into local Polymarket users, with the request reportedly coming from South Korea’s National Police Agency.
The KCSC stated: “We decided to provide an opportunity for the company to state its position to thoroughly verify the legality of Polymarket and its service operation methods.
“We plan to make a final decision on whether to issue a corrective order after comprehensively reviewing the submitted opinions and related materials.”
South Korean rules forbid users from betting on any service but Sports Toto, which is run by the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation (KSPO).
Individual bets are capped at 100,000 won (£49.07), but reports say bets on the 3 June election on Polymarket totalled hundreds of billions of won, leaving users liable to fines of up to 10 million won.
There is also the elephant in the room of Polymarket being classed as an illegal gambling operator in South Korea, despite its refusal to deem itself a gambling company.
South Korea joins list of Polymarket foes
Countries across southeast Asia have followed in the footsteps of European jurisdictions in banning Polymarket.
The prediction market platform may not be hopeful of gaining sympathy in South Korea given its current track record.
In May, Indonesia blocked the platform after taking umbrage with markets relating to the length of President Prabowo Subianto’s term.
That came after Singapore added Polymarket to the Gambling Regulatory Authority blacklist in January 2025. Citizens of Myanmar are also unable to use the platform.
In the US, Polymarket is regulated by the federal derivatives regulator – the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) – and is therefore not classed as a gambling operator.
As mentioned, Europe is another continent to take a similar stance to some southeast Asian countries in banning Polymarket.
Many will not let the business operate in their relevant jurisdictions without a gambling licence – something which Polymarket seems unwilling to gain.
There could be opportunity for the firm in the gambling hotspot of Gibraltar, however, which has recently licensed two prediction market platforms as betting intermediaries, including FIFA’s official prediction market partner ADI Predictstreet.
But South Korea may be another jurisdiction where there are regulatory repercussions for the operator, and while there is no doubt that prediction markets are growing at a rapid pace, it seems regulatory action against them is too.
