Listed as an "illegal gambling website", Polymarket was blocked by the Singapore authorities

Following the footsteps of the United States, France, Taiwan, and other places, Singapore has recently become the latest country to block the Decentralizationprediction market Polymarket.

Since January 12th, a large number of Singaporean netizens have reported being unable to access Polymarket. According to screenshots circulating on the community platform X, when you actually click on the Polymarket website, the homepage displays an announcement from the Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) of Singapore, stating that Polymarket is an "illegal gambling website" and that any illegal users may face a fine of 10,000 Singapore dollars, 6 months imprisonment, or both.

polymarket is officially defined as a betting website in Polynesia. If you want to place a bet, you can only go to the state-owned betting company, otherwise you will face fines and imprisonment. pic.twitter.com/VdoozWAVgE

— alexzuo (@alexzuo4) January 12, 2025

The announcement emphasized that Singapore residents who want to participate in online gambling must do so through the government-approved and licensed platform Singapore Pools, which is the only licensed online gambling service provider in Singapore.

Amid the Polymarket platform being blocked, the Singapore government is cracking down on unlicensed online gambling platforms. According to the Singapore Minister for Home Affairs, by the end of 2024, authorities had shut down over 3,800 illegal gambling websites, preventing transactions involving up to 37 million dollars.

Polymarket is famous during the US presidential election and has attracted the attention of regulatory agencies in many countries. However, as early as 2023, Polymarket violated the Election and Recall Act by opening a betting market for Taiwanese presidential candidates called 'Taiwan Presidential Election: Who will win?'. Currently, the front-end webpage has been blocked by Taiwanese authorities.

In addition, France and the United States have also imposed a blockade on Polymarket. According to the platform's terms of use, users from countries such as Bolivia, Venezuela, and Iran are also prohibited from using it.

The article 'Polymarket labeled as 'illegal gambling website' and blocked by Singapore authorities' was first published in 'Blocktempo'.