India Blocks Polymarket Under Online Money Gaming Rules

India has cut access to Polymarket for local users after authorities placed prediction market platforms under the prohibited online money gaming category.

Good to Know

• Polymarket users in India now face an access block instead of the normal website.
• MeitY told internet and VPN providers to stop access to illegal betting and prediction market platforms.
• Kalshi could face a similar blocking order next, according to local reports.

India Blocks Polymarket as Prediction Markets Face Gaming Law Test

Polymarket has gone offline for users in India after government authorities ordered access restrictions on prediction market platforms. The block follows a wider effort by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, or MeitY, to limit access to online money gaming services prohibited under local law.

Users trying to open polymarket.com now see an error page saying, “This site can’t be reached. Check if there is a typo in polymarket.com.” Reloading the page does not restore access.

The action comes after MeitY issued an April 25 advisory to VPN providers. Officials said users in India continued to reach “illegal and blocked prediction market and online betting platforms” despite “domestic prohibitions.” The ministry then directed internet service providers to block access to listed platforms.

Polymarket sits at the center of that order. Kalshi, a US prediction market regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, could follow soon. Local reports citing an unnamed MeitY source said the ministry has “already issued a blocking order to Polymarket and is in the process of issuing an order to Kalshi as soon as Friday.”

Prediction markets let users trade real-money positions on future events, including elections, referendums, financial prices, and other yes-or-no outcomes. Public interest rose sharply during the 2024 US presidential election, when platforms such as Polymarket became a major source of political odds and event trading activity.

India treats the product differently. Under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act 2025, authorities classify real-money participation on prediction market platforms as online money gaming. That puts Polymarket inside a banned category, even though the platform operates as a decentralized prediction market rather than a regular sportsbook.

The law has also changed the role of digital intermediaries. VPN providers, internet providers, payment firms, and other tech channels now face pressure to stop local users from reaching blocked platforms. MeitY has warned that service providers may lose legal safe-harbor protections when they fail to make reasonable efforts against prohibited access.

For Polymarket, India adds another regulatory wall around a product already treated differently across markets. For Kalshi, the next few days may decide whether a CFTC-regulated platform also loses access in one of the largest online user markets in the world.