A Buenos Aires court has reportedly ordered a nationwide block of Polymarket, the crypto-based prediction market platform, after a complaint from Argentina’s state lottery authority and an investigation by the city’s specialized gambling prosecutor. If fully executed, the order would direct internet service providers and app stores to cut off access across all of Argentina.
The reported order comes from Juzgado PCyF 31, led by judge Susana Parada, according to a reproduced La Nacion report. The case was initiated by Loteria de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (LOTBA) and investigated by Juan Rozas, a prosecutor within FEJA, Buenos Aires’ specialized anti-illegal-gambling unit.
The reported scope is broad. ENACOM, Argentina’s national communications regulator, was reportedly instructed to enforce the block through ISPs. Google and Apple were separately ordered to restrict the Polymarket app for Argentine users.
Key claims remain unverified
No direct court filing, docket entry, or case number for the Polymarket-specific order has surfaced publicly. Official confirmation from ENACOM, LOTBA, Google, Apple, or Polymarket itself has not appeared either.
That verification gap matters. The claim that Argentina is the first Latin American country to impose a total block on Polymarket also lacks independent confirmation. Whether ISPs have already deployed the block, or whether app stores have restricted downloads, remains unclear.
What is confirmed is the enforcement infrastructure behind the reported action. Buenos Aires created FEJA in 2024 under Resolution FG 73/2024 to pursue illegal gambling cases under Argentina’s Criminal Code article 301 bis and the city’s Contraventional Code articles 135 to 138. The unit has a documented record of using court-ordered ISP blocks against unlicensed betting platforms.
A broader crackdown on unlicensed online gambling
The Polymarket case, if confirmed, fits a pattern. FEJA has already secured court-ordered blocks against 237 illegal betting sites in a single enforcement action through Juzgado PCyF 16. Buenos Aires officials have justified these actions by pointing to weak age and identity verification on unlicensed platforms, citing risks of exposing minors to gambling.
By July 2024, the city government said it had blocked 1,086 illegal betting sites total, alongside awareness campaigns that reached roughly 23,000 adolescents.
Polymarket’s identity controls are lighter than those of more regulated competitors. A separate La Nacion report noted that Polymarket required only an email address for access, while rival Kalshi imposed stricter identity checks. That distinction is central to the regulatory concern: crypto wallets allow pseudonymous participation, making it harder for authorities to enforce age restrictions or track gambling activity.
Luca Compagnucci, quoted in that earlier La Nacion piece, argued that prediction market trust “is not built through the identity of participants, but through transparency and infrastructure.” Ignacio Carballo offered the counter-perspective, noting that “there are people gambling on these platforms on how Russian and Ukrainian tanks move,” highlighting the ethical tension regulators see in unregulated event markets.
What this signals for crypto prediction markets
Buenos Aires’ enforcement model treats crypto prediction markets the same way it treats unlicensed online sportsbooks. The legal basis is gambling law, not securities regulation or crypto-specific legislation.
That framing has implications beyond Argentina. If regulators in other Latin American jurisdictions adopt the same approach, compliance and identity controls could become the primary pressure points for platforms like Polymarket. The broader question, whether prediction markets function as information infrastructure or as gambling products, remains unresolved across most regulatory frameworks.
For now, the reported Polymarket block joins a growing list of enforcement actions where traditional gambling law intersects with crypto-native platforms. Similar regulatory scrutiny has intensified in other sectors; Binance, for instance, has faced ongoing compliance challenges across multiple jurisdictions.
Whether this specific order is fully confirmed and enforced, or whether it stalls in implementation, will depend on responses from ENACOM, the app stores, and Polymarket itself. None have publicly commented as of this writing.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.
