Netherlands: ₱27M Weekly Fine sa Polymarket Pag Patuloy sa Dutch Users

Inutos ng Dutch gambling regulators sa Polymarket na magbayad ng $470,000 kada linggo kung patuloy pa ring mag-serve ang crypto prediction platform sa Netherlands users.

Nag-issue ang Kansspelautoriteit ng formal enforcement order nitong Friday laban sa Adventure One QSS Inc., ang operator ng Polymarket, na may maximum total fine na $940,000. Sabi ng regulator, kahit nakipag-contact na sila sa company tungkol sa illegal activities sa Dutch market, walang nakikitang pagbabago at available pa rin ang platform. Totally banned ang betting sa elections under Dutch law, kahit sa licensed operators pa yan.

Argumento ni Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan, ang prediction markets ay financial infrastructure similar sa derivatives markets, hindi gambling platforms. Hindi naman pumapayag ang regulator. May isang trader na nag-turn ng $1,020 bet sa Portuguese presidential elections into $49,000 winnings, umabot ng $168,000 ang total profits across 3,366 predictions bago pa pumasok ang Portuguese authorities.

Pitong European countries na ngayon ang nag-block o nag-restrict ng Polymarket access. Italy, Belgium, at Romania nag-ban completely ng access, habang nag-restrict naman si France ng betting functionality at nag-issue ng formal ban ang Hungary. Ini-blacklist ng National Gambling Office ng Romania ang platform dahil sa ₱39.03 billion ($672 million) worth ng trades sa 2025 presidential election nila.

Dumating ang Dutch crackdown habang nag-e-expand ng US presence si Polymarket pagkatapos ng regulatory troubles. Nagbayad ang platform ng ₱81.31 million ($1.4 million) fine sa CFTC noong January 2022 dahil nag-offer ng event-based binary options without registering as an exchange. Nag-end ang US authorities ng investigations without new charges noong July 15, 2025, clearing the way para sa compliant American operations. Nakuha ng Polymarket ang CFTC-licensed derivatives exchange na QCEX for ₱6.5 billion ($112 million) at naka-secure ng ₱116.15 billion ($2 billion) strategic investment from Intercontinental Exchange, ang parent company ng New York Stock Exchange, noong May 2022 nang sumali si former CFTC Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo sa advisory board.