South Korea Refers 18 Polymarket Users to Prosecutors Over $12.7M in Bets
South Korean police have referred 18 Polymarket customers to prosecutors over alleged unlawful playing. The escalation extends a months-long investigation into wagers positioned on the platform’s election markets.
Lawmaker Yoon Kun-young’s workplace launched the figures after receiving them from the National Police Agency. The case provides particular person prosecutions to a broader crackdown on the prediction market platform.
What the Investigation Found
The Cyber Investigation Unit of the Gangwon Provincial Police Agency has formally investigated 26 customers as of September 15. The 26 positioned a mixed 17.6 billion gained, roughly $12.7 million, on Polymarket political, financial, and social markets.
One particular person alone wagered about 5.7 billion gained, shut to $3.8 million.
Investigators traced bettors utilizing open-source intelligence (OSINT) methods utilized to public blockchain transaction information. The technique allow them to determine particular person pockets holders regardless of the platform’s nameless design.
Police argue the trades meet the authorized definition of playing underneath Article 246 of South Korea’s Criminal Act. They cite Supreme Court precedent holding that betting property on an unsure consequence counts as playing, no matter talent.
The users under investigation counter that their trades resemble derivatives investing quite than wagering. That distinction will seemingly form how the courts finally rule.
Part of a Wider Crackdown in South Korea
The prosecutions comply with a separate transfer by South Korea’s broadcasting and communications regulator. In August, the regulator ordered web suppliers to block domestic access to Polymarket, citing its winner-take-all payout construction.
Polymarket argued that its lack of a Korean-language service and gained funds ought to exempt it from native legislation. The regulator rejected that protection.
Attorney Kim Tae-rim of AXIS Law pointed to a key structural distinction. Polymarket’s contracts commerce on an order guide and will be closed earlier than expiry, not like a typical wager.
Kim said that distinction might turn into a central challenge for judges to weigh.
Polymarket already faces growing scrutiny from regulators worldwide over the way it verifies and displays merchants. How South Korean courts classify its contracts may set a precedent for different jurisdictions weighing comparable instances.
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