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Ukraine blocks Polymarket in wider online gambling crackdown
Polymarket is already restricted in 33 countries.
Jan 13, 2026, 10:15 a.m.
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What to know:
- Ukraine ordered ISPs to block access to prediction market Polymarket and 200 online gambling websites, citing a lack of local licenses.
- The move follows a recommendation from the State Agency of Ukraine PlayCity, which found Polymarket operating without a license, allowing bets on future events, including geopolitics related to Russia's invasion.
- Polymarket is already restricted in 33 other countries.
Ukraine ordered internet service providers to block access to prediction market Polymarket along with almost 200 online gambling websites.
The decision stems from a Dec. 10 resolution by the National Commission for State Regulation of Electronic Communications (NKEK), which the country's internet service providers seemingly started enforcing now, according to local news outlets.
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Under Ukrainian law, any website offering gambling, including prediction markets, is required to obtain a license to operate legally in the country. Prediction markets allow users to bet on the outcomes of events including politics, sports and financial results. Polymarket has been criticized in Ukraine for allowing bets on geopolitical events, including on developments related to Russia’s invasion of the country.
The move follows a recommendation from the State Agency of Ukraine PlayCity, which found that Polymarket was operating without a license. Other major prediction markets including Kalshi, Myriad, Predictit, and Limitless, are absent from the list of blocked websites. Polymarket is restricted across 33 other countries including France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Iraq, North Korea, Thailand and Australia.
Local news outlet AIN cited monitoring data, claiming $270 million in war-related bets had been placed on Polymarket so far.
The block order adds Polymarket to a public registry of restricted sites and obliges telecom providers to enforce access limits. Associations representing internet providers were instructed to inform their members, and regulators have reserved the right to carry out unscheduled inspections of ISPs that fail to comply.
