The French National Gambling Authority (ANJ) issued a formal warning against prediction markets on February 24, 2026, and stated that they classify them as illegal gambling. The regulator stressed that any service that offers bets on political, geopolitical, or sports event outcomes without a local license will be considered as unauthorized gambling, because these platforms
The French National Gambling Authority (ANJ) issued a formal warning against prediction markets on February 24, 2026, and stated that they classify them as illegal gambling.
The regulator stressed that any service that offers bets on political, geopolitical, or sports event outcomes without a local license will be considered as unauthorized gambling, because these platforms cause addiction similar to online gambling but lack the necessary consumer protection mechanisms.
The ANJ stated:
“In France, these sites are not allowed and are considered illegal gambling sites. This is the reason why the main players have, at the request of the ANJ, set up a geo-blocking system, thus preventing any game from France (excluding VPNs). Because these prediction sites have several addictive characteristics similar to those observed for online gambling, but amplified due to the absence of existing protection mechanisms in the legal gambling market, the ANJ calls on users to be cautious.”
The measures come as prediction markets are increasingly rising in popularity and are reportedly exceeding the trading volumes of traditional sportsbooks. Polymarket and Kalshi are estimated to have reached a combined trading volume of over $40 billion in 2025.
The ANJ noted that some operators have introduced geo-blocking measures at the regulator’s order to make sure that users with French IP addresses can’t access the websites. Despite this, the authority revealed that players are still using virtual private networks (VPNs) to trade on prediction markets.