Spain Blocks Polymarket and Kalshi in Major Gambling Crackdown

Leading market prediction sites Polymarket and Kalshi have been blocked in Spain as the Ministry of Consumer Rights carries out an investigation on whether they are violating Spanish law by operating without a gambling licence. On Tuesday, May 26, the Ministry stated it had launched disciplinary proceedings against these two major platforms.

Polymarket and Kalshi: Accessible places for gambling on everything, from politics to weather

Polymarket and Kalshi are both sites that allow users to gamble on a wide variety of things, from weather to political elections and more. However, allegedly, the sites lack the “necessary administrative authorisation” to operate in the country. Some of the regulations needed to operate gambling sites include a licence and identity verification systems to block access by children, as well as people who are banned from gambling.

Following accusations of insider trading and immorality, six countries across Europe have blocked or limited access to Polymarket, including France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Romania.

The Ministry of Consumer Rights stated that these two gambling outlets will be blocked domestically until the investigation is concluded, which according to its statement, is “expected to take between three and four months.”

The Ministry also stated they had attempted to notify the two sites before access was blocked, but attempts to get in contact were unsuccessful.

Europe’s gambling problem: Betting apps experience a spike in popularity in recent years

This move comes within a context of more stringent regulations around gambling and prediction market sites across Europe; in recent years, gambling and betting sites have exploded in popularity, in part due to the accessibility of gambling apps and the ability to place bets on anything from sports to pop culture and entertainment.

Nearly 40 million users across Europe

As a result, these prediction market sites have become a multi-billion euro industry, and a significant portion of the European population, including children and young adults, struggles with habitual gambling. According to figures from the European Gaming and Betting Association, the number of users in the European Union and the United Kingdom on online gambling platforms reached 38.6 million in 2024, representing a 19 per cent increase from the 32.5 million recorded in 2023. As a result of these growing numbers, gambling is increasingly being treated as a public health concern.

The figures also showed that most gamblers in Europe are men, but that women tended to develop a gambling addiction more quickly. Additionally, in southern European and Balkan countries, underage gambling is a more significant issue.

Spain’s gambling crackdown: Scrambling to protect young residents from betting addictions

Earlier this year, the Spanish Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling announced a comprehensive new Safe Gambling Programme, due to be carried out from 2026-2030 and aiming to protect Spain’s young people from the dangers of gambling addiction.

The plan includes researching certain games to determine the factors that facilitate gambling addiction, regular conferences to discuss key topics including artificial intelligence and loot boxes in video games, and promoting the usage of consumer protection tools.