In one of those “blink and you’ll miss it” regulatory plot twists, Romania’s National Office for Gambling just slapped Polymarket with a big, shiny blacklist sticker.
The reason? Operating without a gambling license.
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Election betting
The regulator didn’t mince words, branding Polymarket as a counterparty betting platform, a fancy way to say it’s running an unauthorized betting game under Romanian law.
The government’s response was swift, internet providers got orders to shut down access faster than you can say “unlicensed wager.”
The catalyst here was a tidal wave of bets on the ongoing political theater. Romanian citizens funneled over $600 million into Polymarket for the presidential election bets alone.
Toss in another $15 million wagered on the capital, Bucharest’s local elections, and you’ve got a simmering pot of regulatory fury.
Romania’s approach to gambling is, by design, a fortress, it tightly controls online betting and doesn’t exactly welcome rogue platforms crashing the party.
Real money wagers without licenses
Polymarket’s blacklist in Romania isn’t its first dance with legal trouble. Romania actually joined to an illustrious lineup.
The platform is already banned in France, Belgium, Poland, Singapore, Thailand, and the United States, pretty much the global “no entry” list for unlicensed prediction markets.
The pattern is clear, Polymarket loves to operate in the gray zone, offering real-money wagers without bothering to collect proper licenses in most countries it courts.
Gambling and politics
As Romania joins this growing list of countries flipping the off switch on Polymarket, the burning question is if this crackdown will cool down the hype around real-money prediction markets.
While regulators tighten the leash, enthusiasts and speculators keep hunting underground for those high-stakes thrills.
Romania’s move is a classic regulatory don’t-mess-with-us moment, underscoring just how seriously some governments treat gambling laws, especially when it overlaps with politics and eye-watering sums of cash.
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Cryptocurrency and Web3 expert, founder of Kriptoworld
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With years of experience covering the blockchain space, András delivers insightful reporting on DeFi, tokenization, altcoins, and crypto regulations shaping the digital economy.
