Netherlands Regulator Targets Polymarket With Weekly Penalty
- Ella Seijsener said event-market bets stay banned in the Dutch market even by licensees.
- Dune and Keyrock put leading platform volume above $13.5B with 43M trades in Nov 2025.
- The order sets €420,000 weekly fines and caps the penalty at €840,000 for noncompliance.
The Netherlands Gambling Authority, known as the Ksa, has ordered Polymarket to stop offering services to Dutch users or face weekly fines of €420,000, capped at €840,000. The regulator said Adventure One QSS Inc., the operator behind Polymarket, offered gambling services without a valid Dutch license. The order requires the company to immediately cease access for users in the Netherlands.
The KSA announced the penalty on Tuesday. It warned that failure to comply would trigger fines of €420,000 per week, or about $462,000, until the maximum penalty of €840,000, roughly $924,000, is reached. The authority classified the platform’s activities as illegal gambling under Dutch law.
Ella Seijsener, director of licensing and supervision at the Ksa, said prediction markets are rising in popularity, including in the Netherlands. She stated that such companies offer bets not permitted in the Dutch market under any circumstances, even by licensed operators.
Dutch Regulator Flags Social Risks
Seijsener cited social risks linked to prediction markets. She referred to concerns such as potential influence on elections. She said the platform constitutes illegal gambling under Dutch regulations.
She added that any company without a Ksa license has no business operating in the Dutch market. According to her statement, that rule also applies to new gambling platforms using emerging technology. The authority drew a clear line between licensed operators and blockchain-based prediction markets.
The enforcement action comes as prediction markets gain traction worldwide. Platforms like Polymarket and its competitor Kalshi have recorded rapid growth, especially around major political events such as the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Combined monthly trading volumes on leading platforms exceed $13.5 billion, with over 43 million transactions processed, according to a November 2025 report by Dune and Keyrock.
Dispute Over Gambling or Financial Products
At the center of the controversy lies a fundamental dispute. Prediction market operators argue their products function as financial instruments rather than wagers. Regulators in several jurisdictions counter that staking money on uncertain real-world outcomes amounts to betting.
Polymarket operates on the Polygon blockchain and uses smart contracts to facilitate trading. Users deposit cryptocurrency to participate in event-based markets covering politics, finance, and current events. Each market offers binary outcomes with fluctuating share prices that reflect collective probability assessments.
The platform’s decentralized design creates regulatory challenges. Traditional gambling companies maintain centralized control, while blockchain platforms distribute functions across participants. This structure complicates enforcement and raises questions about jurisdictional oversight. As these markets expand into politics, sports, and macroeconomic events, authorities increasingly examine whether existing gambling laws apply.
Legal Pressure Mounts Globally
Despite regulatory scrutiny, Polymarket has continued expanding partnerships. On Wednesday, the company announced a collaboration with Substack that allows authors to integrate live Polymarket data into newsletters. It said journalism benefits from live markets. Earlier, it secured a partnership with Major League Soccer. Rival Kalshi has struck deals with CNBC and CNN.
Related: Netherlands Plans Annual Tax on Unrealized Bitcoin Gains
Polymarket did not respond to a request for comment. Meanwhile, Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour defended his company’s model last April. He described its offerings as “event contracts,” not bets, and called the platform an open financial marketplace where users trade against each other rather than a bookmaker. “If we are gambling, then I think you’re basically calling the entire financial market gambling,” he said.
Still, legal challenges continue to mount. Kalshi is defending a class action lawsuit in the Southern District of New York alleging it operates as an illegal and unlicensed sports book. Polymarket and other platforms have faced regulatory or legal action in U.S. states, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Singapore, Portugal, Hungary, Thailand, and now the Netherlands.
Dozens of lawsuits remain active in the United States alone. Federal authorities, Native American tribes, investors who lost money, and gambling regulators have filed claims. As regulators tighten oversight across multiple jurisdictions, will prediction markets adapt to licensing frameworks or continue to challenge existing gambling laws?
