Lithuania Blocks Polymarket After Classifying Activity as Gambling
Lithuania.- 17 September 2026 | www.zonadeazar.com Lithuania’s Gaming Control Authority, Lošimų priežiūros tarnyba, LPT, has blocked access to Polymarket after concluding that the platform’s activity displays the characteristics of unauthorised betting.
The decision adds another significant development to the international debate over how prediction markets should be classified and regulated when customers risk money on the outcome of real-world events.
Investigation Into Polymarket
LPT investigated the services offered through Polymarket.
Although the platform presents itself as a prediction market in which users buy and sell positions linked to future outcomes, the regulator concluded that the underlying mechanics resemble betting.
Features Identified by the Regulator
During its investigation, LPT found that customers could:
- Create accounts.
- Deposit funds.
- Take positions on real-world events.
- Trade at pre-established prices or implied probabilities.
- Win or lose money depending on the outcome.
The regulator considered these characteristics sufficient to identify gambling activity.
No Lithuanian Licence
LPT concluded that Polymarket was effectively offering betting without the licence and authorisation required under Lithuanian law.
That finding allowed the authority to classify the service as illegal remote gambling.
Court Approval
The regulator subsequently obtained a ruling from the Regional Administrative Court.
That judicial authorisation enabled LPT to order enforcement measures against the platform.
Website Access Blocked
Electronic communications providers were instructed to block access to Polymarket within Lithuania.
The measure prevents ordinary access to the site through domestic internet service providers.
Payment Transactions Stopped
The action extends beyond domain blocking.
LPT also instructed payment service providers to terminate transactions connected with the company identified as operating the illegal service.
The order applies to Adventure One QSS, Inc.
First Prediction Market Platform Blocked
Polymarket is the first prediction-market platform to be blocked by Lithuania under this approach.
The decision expands enforcement tools that have traditionally been used against offshore casinos and sportsbooks.
Wider Prediction Market Debate
The case reflects a regulatory discussion increasingly taking place across multiple jurisdictions.
Prediction-market platforms often argue that they provide event contracts or market-based products rather than conventional gambling.
Some regulators, however, are focusing on economic substance rather than product labels.
Mechanics Over Terminology
Lithuania’s approach indicates that calling a product a prediction market does not necessarily remove it from gambling law.
Where a customer risks money on an uncertain event and the outcome determines profit or loss, the regulator may consider the activity to be betting.
More Than 2,200 Illegal Sites Blocked
Polymarket joins a much larger group of websites targeted by Lithuania.
At the time of the decision, authorities had blocked 2,204 illegal remote gambling websites.
The figure highlights the country’s active enforcement strategy.
Blacklist and Whitelist Model
Lithuania combines several regulatory tools.
The country maintains a public list of illegal gambling operators alongside mechanisms identifying companies authorised to offer remote gambling.
Since May 2025, certain card-based betting transactions have been allowed only with operators appearing on the authorised whitelist.
Payment Blocking as an Enforcement Tool
Lithuania has also strengthened payment blocking against illegal gambling operators.
The strategy reduces the effectiveness of operators simply changing domains or using alternative website addresses.
Interrupting financial flows can have a more direct impact on the underlying business.
Inter-Agency Co-operation
The Gaming Control Authority has been working with the Bank of Lithuania, the Ministry of Finance and other institutions to improve payment-blocking systems.
Financial supervision is therefore becoming an increasingly important element of illegal-market enforcement.
Consumer Protection
The regulatory case also extends beyond licensing.
Authorised operators must comply with requirements covering:
- Player protection.
- Responsible gambling.
- Anti-money laundering.
- Identity verification.
- Access restrictions.
- Regulatory supervision.
Unauthorised platforms sit outside those safeguards.
Prediction Markets Face Greater Scrutiny
Lithuania’s decision comes as prediction markets attract increasing international attention.
Their growth has created uncertainty over whether they should be treated as financial products, event markets or gambling services.
The answer increasingly depends on the legal framework of each jurisdiction.
Impact on Polymarket
For Polymarket, the Lithuanian action means loss of direct access to the market and disruption of payment channels connected with its local activity.
The decision may also be watched closely by regulators elsewhere in Europe.
Industry Context
Prediction markets are entering a period of rapid international expansion.
That growth is forcing both financial and gambling regulators to define more clearly where event trading ends and betting begins.
Lithuania’s approach shows that some authorities are prepared to apply gambling legislation directly where the mechanics of the product satisfy core betting characteristics.
Next Steps and Impact
Polymarket’s inclusion in Lithuania’s blocking regime could become an important precedent for European prediction-market regulation.
LPT has made clear that it will assess the actual operation of a platform rather than relying on the terminology used to market it.
For other prediction-market operators, the case reinforces the need to examine local licensing requirements before entering European jurisdictions.
For Lithuania, the action extends a broader enforcement model combining website blocking, payment disruption and institutional co-operation to reduce unauthorised gambling activity.
Editó: @fonta
