South Korea’s Korea Communications Standards Commission Opens Review into Polymarket’s Gambling Classification

South Korea’s Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) has begun a formal review of Polymarket, the US-based prediction market platform, to assess whether it constitutes an illegal gambling service under Korean law. The review was triggered by a complaint filed against the platform.

Polymarket operates differently from conventional sports betting or casino sites. Users stake stablecoins on the outcomes of real-world events — including US elections, central bank interest rate decisions, and cryptocurrency prices — and receive returns based on actual results. That distinction has made a straightforward classification difficult for regulators.

A KCSC official told Korean crypto news outlet Bloomingbit that the platform requires more detailed scrutiny than a standard gambling site, but added that Polymarket could still be designated as a new category of gambling-related service depending on the outcome of the review.

Despite being headquartered outside South Korea, Polymarket is currently accessible in the country without meaningful restrictions and operates a Korean-language interface. Under Korean communications law, offering localised services to domestic users is sufficient to bring an overseas platform within the KCSC’s regulatory remit, regardless of where its servers are located.

Jin Hyun-soo, managing partner at Decent Law Firm, told Bloomingbit that the KCSC holds the authority to block access to Polymarket if the platform provides Korean-language services or actively targets Korean users. He said Polymarket risks being removed from the Korean market entirely if it continues to operate without engaging with local regulations.

South Korea would not be the first country to take action against the platform. France, Germany, Italy, India, Brazil, Australia, and Argentina have all classified Polymarket as an illegal gambling site and blocked access. In the United States, several states — including Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Nevada — have issued cease-and-desist orders or filed lawsuits specifically related to sports-event contracts offered through prediction market platforms.

The review arrives at a time of rapid growth in the global prediction market sector. According to figures from research firm Bernstein cited in the Bloomingbit report, worldwide prediction market trading volume tripled to $51 billion in 2025. That figure is projected to reach $240 billion in 2026 and $1 trillion by 2030.

At the heart of the South Korean review is a question that regulators in multiple jurisdictions are grappling with: whether prediction markets represent a financial instrument for pricing event outcomes or a form of gambling subject to consumer protection and licensing requirements. The KCSC’s decision could set a precedent for how other Asian regulators approach similar platforms as the sector continues to expand.