Polymarket has begun actively targeting users who rely on VPNs to bypass geoblocking rules. The platform now blocks certain IP addresses connected to VPN services and in some cases asks users to verify their identity, according to one report Information. The moves come as the company faces increasing legal and regulatory pressure around the world, including outright bans in countries such as Spain and Indonesia. Meanwhile, VPN providers themselves are facing increasing regulatory pressure in places like Utah and the United Kingdom.
Polymarket’s updated approach combines technical barriers with selective identity checks to prevent users from circumventing location restrictions. The company is said to completely block known VPN IP ranges and flag accounts that show signs of evasion. Users with unusually large positions or transferring funds in rapid, high-value cycles are now prompted to complete identity verification to satisfy anti-money laundering regulations. When using trading based on the main wallet USDC stablecoin on the blockchain network, Polygon remains open to people in authorized regions, the platform has moved away from completely unauthorized access by default, which is the main feature that distinguishes the international version of its platform from its main competitor, Kalshi. Of course, this trend of more permissive forms of access is even more apparent in the cryptocurrency industry, as much of the related activity built around stablecoins and other centralization points.
It should be noted that Polymarket keeps its international operations separate from its US arm, which requires a full Know Your Customer after the company acquires a licensed subsidiary exchange in 2025. Prior to this acquisition, the prediction markets provider also had a $1.4 million settlement with the CFTC in 2022 for operating unregistered binary options.
Geoblocking specific IP addresses serves as a common way to prevent people in restricted countries from accessing financial platforms that do not have the appropriate regulatory approval or compliance in those territories. However, VPNs allow anyone to route traffic through servers in authorized locations, making pure IP-based blocks unreliable without collecting personal information about users. This limitation of geoblocking has been used by cryptocurrencies before. Both Binance and KuCoin have drawn heavy criticism and official charges for allowing Americans to trade without the required KYC and AML checks. Court documents to show KuCoin knowingly allowed US customers to operate without identity verification, advertised the lack of KYC as a feature, and took steps to hide its existence. So is the CFTC pointed out Where Binance instructs US users to use VPNs to avoid detection.
Regulators around the world are increasingly at loggerheads over how to classify prediction markets, with some treating them as unlicensed gambling and others as unauthorized derivatives trading. Spain recently ordered internet providers to block both Polymarket and Kalshi after platforms operate without the necessary gambling licenses and fail to include adequate safeguards for minors and self-excluded bettors. The blocks will remain in place during the disciplinary proceedings, which are expected to last three to four months.
Spain’s decision brings the total to more than 30 jurisdictions where prediction markets face restrictions or outright bans. Recent additions to the list include Indonesia, which took action earlier this week, as well as Argentina, Brazil, India, France, Belgium, Australia and the United Kingdom. In the US, the CFTC filed a lawsuit against the state of Minnesota after the state passed a law criminalizing prediction markets. There is also Kalshi joined the challenge With its own federal lawsuit alleging that the Minnesota law oversteps state authority and violates the Constitution by interfering with federally regulated derivatives markets.
At the same time, some jurisdictions have begun to explore stricter rules when people use VPNs to bypass age-based restrictions on adult content and other forms of online regulation. So far, the focus has been on shifting legal responsibility to software developers and website operators, forcing them to prevent unauthorized access by targeted groups. critics, Like the Electronic Frontier Foundationwarn that this approach will push platforms to require real-world identity verification for users, effectively shutting down anonymous internet access for many services.
Utah’s new Online Age Verification Amendments prohibit companies that host material harmful to minors from helping users pass age verifications through VPNs or similar tools, and make their platforms liable for in-state access attempts, regardless of masking technology. Similar discussions took place in Great Britainwhere officials describe VPNs as loopholes that violate content restrictions.
