France just blocked Polymarket. Polymarket says it will see France in court.
On July 16, 2026, France’s National Gambling Authority, the ANJ, ordered the country’s internet service providers to cut off access to the prediction market platform entirely. Polymarket announced on July 22 that it intends to challenge that block through the French legal system.
How we got here
This did not come out of nowhere. The ANJ had already moved against Polymarket back in November 2024, when France banned financial transactions to the platform over concerns about illegal gambling activity and potential manipulation of wagers.
That earlier restriction clearly did not deter French users. The ANJ’s latest action was partly driven by data showing Polymarket received over 578,000 visits from France in June 2026 alone, despite the transaction ban already being in place.
