Singapore’s gambling regulator has blocked access to Polymarket, a controversial crypto predictions platform under scrutiny for its handling of U.S. election-related betting.
Reports of users being denied access first emerged Sunday evening, with Alex Zuo, investments and custody vice president for Cobo, tweeting a screenshot of a pop-up notification.
Users attempting to access the platform from Singapore encounter a warning message from the Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA), declaring Polymarket as an “illegal gambling site” operated by an unlicensed provider.
This is still the case at the time of writing, according to a screenshot reviewed by Decrypt and confirmed by several sources based in Singapore.
Official statements from the GRA or Polymarket have yet to surface. The GRA and Polymarket did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Internal testing shows Polymarket’s front end can be accessed through a VPN routed to Singapore servers. One source told Decrypt they could still access the site, but it was likely because they were not with a major Singapore telco provider.
Predictions markets as gambling
The warning from Singapore’s GRA
