TLDR
- South Korean police booked 26 Polymarket users tied to 17.6 billion won, about $12.7 million, in wagers.
- 18 of the 26 cases have already been referred to prosecutors as of September 15.
- Investigators used public blockchain records and open source tools to trace users since Polymarket has no centralized customer list.
- The highest single bet among suspects reached roughly 5.7 billion won.
- South Korea blocked domestic access to Polymarket on August 18 after ruling its structure met the legal definition of gambling.
South Korean police have booked 26 people for allegedly placing illegal bets on Polymarket. The total value of the wagers linked to these users reaches 17.6 billion won, close to $12.7 million.
The Gangwon Provincial Police Agency Cyber Investigation Unit shared the figures with the office of lawmaker Yoon Kun-young. The Asia Business Daily first reported the numbers on September 17.
Of the 26 booked users, 18 cases have already been sent to prosecutors. That transfer happened by September 15, according to the police materials.
The highest individual bet among the group was about 5.7 billion won. That figure came from a single suspect identified during the investigation.
How Investigators Tracked Users
Polymarket does not keep a traditional list of customer names. The platform runs on a non-custodial, peer-to-peer structure, which means there is no central account database for police to request.
Instead, investigators used public blockchain transaction data. They applied open source intelligence tools to match wallet activity to individual users.
The police materials reviewed by local outlets did not include the wallet addresses tied to the 26 suspects. That means outside groups cannot independently check the reported betting totals address by address.
The investigation did not start recently. Police began preliminary checks in March, then moved to formally book users starting in May.
This inquiry was the first known South Korean investigation focused specifically on domestic Polymarket users. It has been running for months before the recent figures became public.
Police are applying Article 246 of South Korea’s Criminal Act to the case. That law allows fines up to 10 million won for gambling, and up to three years in prison or a 20 million won fine for habitual gambling.
Investigators point to a 2008 Supreme Court ruling that defines gambling as staking property on an outcome nobody can fully predict or control. Police argue that Polymarket bets fit this description because users risk assets on events with uncertain results.
Some of the booked users disagree with that reading. Their argument, reported by the Asia Business Daily, describes Polymarket as a virtual asset based derivatives market rather than a betting platform.
An attorney representing users in these cases told reporters that courts may look at features like order book trading and the ability to exit a position early. So far, no South Korean court has accepted the derivatives argument as a defense.
Polymarket’s Legal Structure and Regulatory Response
South Korea’s Broadcasting, Media and Communications Review Committee voted on August 18 to block domestic access to Polymarket. The committee said the platform offered an illegal gambling environment to local users.
Regulators focused on betting markets tied to politics, sports, elections and weather. They said Polymarket sets the rules and handles settlement while profiting from user activity.
Polymarket had argued that its peer to peer model, lack of Korean language service and lack of won based payments should exempt it from being treated as a gambling operator. The regulator rejected that defense directly.
Polymarket operates two separate entities depending on region. Its international platform is not regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, while Polymarket US runs through QCX LLC, a CFTC designated contract market since July 2025.
That separation does not affect the South Korean cases. Police have based their charges entirely on domestic criminal law, not on how Polymarket is regulated elsewhere.
As of now, no court has ruled on whether Polymarket’s contracts fall outside the gambling law because of their derivatives like structure. The 18 referred cases have not yet resulted in any indictment or scheduled hearing, based on the materials reviewed.
