Thailand proposes banning Polymarket in crackdown on illegal crypto gambling

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The Thai cybercrime authorities are mulling shutting down Polymarket, a peer-to-peer prediction marketplace where people can place bets on events with cryptocurrency. The nations Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) has raised the alarm over the site as being against the countrys gambling laws. Based on the authorities, the service Polymarket employs crypto for betting on various subjects, including political, sporting, and economic, and can be considered an illegal gambling platform based on Thai legislation.

The authorities have expressed concerns regarding the platforms use of cryptocurrency since it makes it difficult to crack down on it. The bets are placed using blockchain, which makes it almost impossible to regulate and monitor the betting and its possible abuse. The Thai cyber police claim that the shutdown of Polymarket is crucial to prevent people from engaging in unlawful gambling and stop using cryptocurrencies for criminal activities.

Global Crackdown on Polymarket

Other countries such as Singapore, Taiwan, and France have also moved to limit or ban the use of the service. For instance, the Remote Gambling Act of Singapore bans any online betting site that operates without the approval of the Singaporean authorities. This has resulted in Polymarket being blocked in the country. Taiwan has also arrested an individual who used the platform to place bets on the elections. In France, local regulators are investigating whether Polymarket is following the countrys gambling legislation.

Nevertheless, Polymarket is still functioning in some areas. The platform remains active in providing prediction markets for different events such as Super Bowl and political elections and has received high traffic in trading. Dune Analytics reported that Polymarket achieved a trading volume of $515 million in 15 days in 2025, proving that the platform has many users.

Thailands Digital Asset Landscape

Although the Thai police are arresting people involved in crypto betting, the country is also considering other changes to the laws concerning cryptocurrencies. The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission is considering permitting the trading of spot Bitcoin ETFs on local exchanges. This reflects the ongoing effort to expand the services for cryptocurrencies as more people embrace digital assets and create more investment opportunities for retail and institutional investors.

The country has witnessed an increased uptake of cryptocurrency trading, with the number of active crypto trading accounts rising by more than twofold in 2024. By November 2024, the number of active crypto accounts in Thailand was 270,000, up from 117,000 in the previous year. Such figures show that more people are turning to digital assets, even with issues like the ones that Polymarket faces.

Text source: TronWeekly

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