France’s National Gaming Authority plans to block Polymarket, the blockchain-based prediction market platform that saw $3.5 billion in trading volume during the US presidential election.

The regulator is “currently reviewing (Polymarket’s) operation as well as its compliance with French gambling legislation,” according to a report from French news channel The Big Whale.

decrypt has contacted Polymarket and the regulator for comment.

The regulatory scrutiny came after a French trader known as Theo placed millions of dollars in bets on Donald Trump ultimately winning earning a $47 million payout when the former president secured a second term, the report said.

A preliminary report from Reuters, two weeks before election day, first identified Théo.

Prospects for the ban are based on the regulator’s authority to restrict access and block domain names. Pressure can also be applied to media outlets that link to the platform, the report claims.

According to Reuters, Polymarket claimed to have approached Théo, citing his extensive trading experience and experience in financial services. Polymarket said it carried out an investigation which concluded that the trader was betting based on their “personal views” about politics.

The massive bets initially raised concerns of manipulation in front of the bettor revealed his identity to the Wall Street Journal, confirming that they placed more than $30 million in bets on the US election.

While ANJ may implement technical restrictions, users can still access the platform through VPNs as Polymarket only requires a crypto wallet rather than identity verification. The regulator has not announced a timetable for the potential ban.

Polymarket has faced increasing regulatory pressure globally, with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission investigating the platform as early as 2021. The Commission subsequently proposed rules targeting prediction markets in an attempt to counter the risks of manipulation.

Despite this, prediction markets continue to attract billions of dollars in bets, with concerns about the effects of insider trading. Polymarket has raised $74 million from early investors, including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, although it remains inaccessible to US users.

The platform processed more than $294 million in trading volume on November 5 alone as users bet on the election results. Unlike traditional betting sites, Polymarket operates on blockchain technology, allowing users to place crypto bets without intermediaries.

The company currently maintains control over betting proposals, although this could change if the project decentralizes through a token release.

Despite skepticism about its predictive value, Polymarket correctly flagged both Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race and Trump’s victory weeks before the events took place.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair