Polymarket bows to ANJ command closing French service

Move comes as news of VIP known as ‘The Polymarket Whale’ was French national rumoured to have won $80m on US elections…

The crypto prediction market operator Polymarket has ceased to accept French players after the country’s gambling regulator, the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), told it to cease trading in the market. 

Polymarket’s profile increased considerably during the US presidential elections when, alongside US-based operator Kalshi, it was massively promoted on X/Twitter by Elon Musk as both companies’ markets predicted victory for Donald Trump. 

It then emerged that one of its biggest clients, known as “The Polymarket Whale”, was a French national named ‘Théo’ who is alleged to have made $80m from backing Trump. A few days after the elections, the company’s CEO Shayne Coplan was visited by FBI agents, who seized his mobile phone and other electronic equipment. 

According to Wikipedia, Polymarket has also received investment from Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of the Ethereum crypto-currency, and Founders Fund, a venture capital firm founded by Peter Thiel, co-founder and ex-CEO of PayPal and backer of Vice-President elect JD Vance.

ANJ is understood to have approached the Panama-based company Adventure One QSS Inc, which operates Polymarket, to get it to implement measures to geoblock French players.

Offering unregulated real money gaming in France can lead to three years of imprisonment and fines of up to €90,000. These can rise to seven years of jail and fines of €200,000 if they are run as organised criminal gangs. 

The French regulator has blocked more than 944 urls since the start of 2024 and said its actions were driven by the fact that under French law, Polymarket’s could have been interpreted as unauthorised gambling products rather, than the fact they were carried out using cryptocurrencies. 

ANJ elects Gallot as Consumer Ombudsman

ANJ President Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin has appointed Jérôme Gallot as its new gambling mediator from today (Tuesday). Gallot’s appointment follows his inclusion on the list as a potential ombudsman for consumer affairs. ANJ’s gambling mediation service aims to promote the amicable settlement of disputes that may arise between players and operators. It received 1,523 requests from players in 2023, with sports betting accounts representing  91% of the mediation requests and 752 deemed inadmissible.

Gallot’s experience includes being a member of France’s national audit office, the Cour des Comptes, since 1985, and working for the Ministry of the Economy and Finance, where he was Director General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control. He has also worked as an investment specialist and been a board member of Veolia.