Spain bans Polymarket and Kalshi over missing licenses!

Spain's gambling regulator has blocked access to Polymarket and Kalshi, citing the platforms' failure to hold the required operating licenses to offer prediction market services to Spanish users. The move marks one of the most direct regulatory interventions against the sector in Europe to date.

The action fits a widening global pattern: prediction markets have drawn scrutiny from regulators in the US, UK, and now across the EU, with authorities variously classifying them as unlicensed gambling operations or unregistered derivatives venues. Polymarket, which runs on the Polygon blockchain, previously settled with the CFTC in 2022 over US user access. Kalshi, despite holding a CFTC licence in the United States, has no equivalent authorisation in Spain or the broader EU.