India Pulls the Plug: Polymarket Blocked Under New Tech Enforcement

Following a direct enforcement instruction from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Indian authorities formally restricted access to the extensively used decentralized prediction platform Polymarket. Under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, the directive was sent to internet service providers, resulting in prompt network-level banning throughout the nation. Users all around India are now reporting connection issues, with the website showing as "inaccessible", signaling a major intensification of the government's crackdown on offshore prediction markets.

The government's choice originates from tightening regulatory structure meant to target real-money "online money-gaming" and betting activities. MeitY has deemed many prediction markets unlawful under national bans, seeing them as illegal gambling businesses instead of merely information platforms. The ministry has also sent strong warnings to VPN providers and other middlemen to guarantee the ban is successful, cautioning against enabling access to these limited sites and highlighting that such bypassing techniques are subject to legal examination.

This action positions Polymarket alongside dozens of other prohibited offshore betting apps, indicating a more general desire to cleanse the Indian digital environment of unmanaged financial risk. Although Kalshi, a U.S.-regulated competitor, is currently available, industry experts predict it may come under comparable investigation in the next weeks as enforcement grows. As the government gives its local "online gaming" regulations top priority, consumers and platforms both are compelled to negotiate a much more restrictive and closely watched regulatory environment.