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Ksa Investigates Polymarket Over Dutch Election Bets
According to the Dutch financial daily FD, a surge in betting on the 2025 Dutch elections has prompted the country’s Gambling Authority (Ksa) to launch an investigation into Polymarket. The popular blockchain-based prediction platform is being accused of operating without a license.
On Polymarket’s Dutch election markets, nearly $33 million has been wagered across several parties, most of it on the PVV. Some users like Ciro2 have made extraordinary profits, with one D66 bet reportedly generating an ROI of 33.44%.
Investigation and Background
The Ksa has launched an investigation into Polymarket’s activities in the Netherlands. The regulator believes the platform facilitates gambling, even though the company claims to offer a “financial prediction product” rather than a traditional betting service.
In the Netherlands, any platform that allows participants to stake money on uncertain outcomes for profit is considered a gambling service and therefore requires a domestic licence. Polymarket has neither obtained nor applied for such a licence.
This effectively means that Dutch users currently betting on the site are, in the regulator’s view, participating in unlicensed gambling, which is prohibited under Dutch law. The Ksa has indicated that formal enforcement actions, including fines or a potential ban, may follow, although no further details have been specified.
Significance
The case is significant as it tests the boundaries between financial speculation and gambling. It highlights a grey area the regulator has been monitoring closely, as platforms like Polymarket increasingly blur those lines.
The Ksa has expressed concern that crypto-based prediction markets can evade oversight, lack consumer protections, and allow problem gamblers to participate anonymously. Regulators are also watching for potential money-laundering and tax-avoidance risks. Because all transactions are conducted in cryptocurrency and accounts are pseudonymous, tracing funds is difficult, making enforcement more complex and heightening concerns about illegal financial flows linked to unregulated betting markets.
