Report: $12.7M in Polymarket Wagers Triggers Criminal Cases in South Korea
South Korean police have opened prison instances towards 26 customers of the prediction market platform Polymarket and referred 18 of them to prosecutors over roughly 17.6 billion gained, about $12.7 million, in bets tied to political, financial, and social outcomes.
The case, disclosed on September 17 by way of information from Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Geon-young’s workplace, units up a authorized combat over whether or not buying and selling on Polymarket counts as playing beneath Korean legislation or one thing nearer to a derivatives funding.
Blockchain Records and a Gambling Charge
According to a report from Asia Economy, the Gangwon Police Agency’s Cyber Investigation Unit had booked the 26 suspects as of September 15, and the biggest single wager from one consumer reached about 5.7 billion gained ($4.1 million).
Polymarket doesn’t maintain custody of consumer funds and settles wagers mechanically in USDC or pUSD primarily based on real-world outcomes, so it retains no real-name record of who’s buying and selling. But legislation enforcement pulled public blockchain transaction information and used open-source strategies to hint the Korean customers anyway.
Police argue the transactions quantity to unlawful playing beneath Article 246 of the Criminal Code, pointing to a Supreme Court precedent holding {that a} wager counts as playing as soon as likelihood performs a task and cash is staked on the outcome, even when talent additionally components in.
Calling the trades an funding, in their studying, doesn’t change {that a} digital asset is put in danger towards an final result no one can know in advance.
The booked customers argue Polymarket needs to be handled as a digital asset derivatives market relatively than playing, and that’s anticipated to change into a central query as soon as the instances attain court docket.
The setup may formally meet the authorized definition of playing in keeping with legal professional Kim Tae-rim of AXIS Law, since income and losses activate unsure outcomes with digital property on the road.
South Korea Had Already Blocked Polymarket Access
The prosecutions have come after South Korea’s August 18 resolution to block home entry to Polymarket. As CryptoPotato reported then, authorities stated the platform’s winner-takes-all construction, mixed with betting on occasions outdoors customers’ management, inspired playing habits.
Polymarket had argued it fell outdoors Korean jurisdiction after dropping Korean language service and won-denominated funds, however the fee rejected that argument.
The prediction market has run into comparable resistance nicely past Korea, with France, Australia and Germany limiting entry, and Baltimore suing it and rival Kalshi final month over claims they function as unlicensed sportsbooks.
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