Polymarket has started actively targeting users who rely on VPNs to get around its geoblocking rules. The platform now blocks certain IP addresses tied to VPN services and in some cases asks users to verify their identities, according to a report in The Information. These steps come as the company faces growing legal and regulatory pressure worldwide, including full-on bans in countries such as Spain and Indonesia. Meanwhile, VPN providers themselves are also facing increased regulatory pressure in places like Utah and the United Kingdom.
Polymarket’s updated approach combines technical barriers with selective identity checks to stop users from dodging location restrictions. The company reportedly blocks known VPN IP ranges outright and flags accounts that show signs of evasion. Users with unusually large positions or those moving money in rapid, high-value cycles now receive requests to complete identity verification to satisfy anti-money laundering rules. While basic wallet-based trading using the USDC stablecoin on blockchain network Polygon stays open for people in allowed regions, the platform has seemingly shifted away from fully permissionless access as the default, which is a key feature that differentiates the international version of its platform from its main competitor Kalshi. Of course, this trend of more permissioned forms of access is increasingly seen throughout the crypto industry more generally, as much of the associated activity is being built around stablecoins and other points of centralization.
Notably, Polymarket keeps its international operations separate from its U.S. arm, which requires complete Know Your Customer compliance after the company acquired a licensed derivatives 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 keep people in restricted countries from reaching financial platforms that lack proper regulatory approval or compliance in those areas. Yet VPNs let anyone route their connection through servers in permitted locations, making pure IP-based blocks unreliable without collecting personal details about users. This limitation of geoblocking has previously been exploited by crypto exchanges. Both Binance and KuCoin drew heavy criticism and formal charges for letting Americans trade without required KYC and AML checks. Court documents show KuCoin knowingly allowed U.S. customers to operate without identity verification, advertised the lack of KYC as a feature, and took steps to hide their presence. The CFTC has also pointed to cases where Binance gave U.S. users guidance on using VPNs to avoid detection.
Regulators around the world increasingly dispute how prediction markets should be classified, with some treating them as unlicensed gambling and others viewing them as unauthorized derivatives trading. Spain recently directed internet providers to block both Polymarket and Kalshi after the platforms operated without the necessary gambling licenses and failed to include adequate protections for minors and self-excluded bettors. The blocks will remain during disciplinary proceedings 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 that list include Indonesia, which took action earlier this week, as well as Argentina, Brazil, India, France, Belgium, Australia, and the United Kingdom. In the United States, the CFTC filed suit against Minnesota after the state passed a law criminalizing prediction markets. Kalshi has also joined the challenge with its own federal lawsuit arguing that the Minnesota statute oversteps state authority and violates the Constitution by interfering with federally overseen derivatives markets.
At the same time, some jurisdictions have begun exploring stricter rules on VPNs when people use them to bypass age-based limits on adult content and other forms of online regulation. The focus so far centers on shifting legal responsibility to app developers and website operators, forcing them to prevent unauthorized access by targeted groups. Critics, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, warn that this approach will push platforms toward requiring real-world identity verification for users, effectively ending anonymous internet access for many services.
Utah’s new Online Age Verification Amendments prohibit companies hosting material harmful to minors from helping users circumvent age checks through VPNs or similar tools and holds platforms accountable for access attempts from within the state regardless of masking technology. Similar discussions have surfaced in the United Kingdom, where officials have described VPNs as loopholes that undermine content restrictions.
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