Authorities directed ISPs and app stores to block access across the country.
• The move contrasts with the U.S., where regulators are working to integrate prediction markets into formal financial oversight.
Prediction markets are moving in two very different directions depending on where you look.
In some countries, they are emerging as a new financial tool—regulated, debated, and increasingly legitimized.
In others, they are being treated as little more than online betting platforms operating outside the law.
On March 16, a Buenos Aires court ordered a nationwide block of Polymarket, one of the largest crypto-based prediction market platforms, escalating a growing regulatory pushback in Latin America.
The ruling, issued by Judge Susana Parada, followed a complaint from the Buenos Aires City Lottery (LOTBA) and the Argentine Chamber of Casinos and Bingos (CASCBA).
Authorities concluded that Polymarket operates as an unlicensed online betting platform rather than a legitimate financial product.
Argentina’s telecom regulator, ENACOM, must coordinate with internet service providers to block access to Polymarket and related domains nationwide.
At the same time, Apple and Google have been instructed to remove the app from their stores for Argentine users and restrict access, including for existing users.
The enforcement places Argentina alongside Colombia as one of the few countries in Latin America to fully block the platform.
Globally, more than 30 jurisdictions have imposed restrictions on Polymarket in some form.
Implementation is expected to roll out gradually as telecom providers and app stores comply with the order.
Argentine authorities framed the decision as a consumer protection measure rather than a stance against crypto itself.
Investigators from the specialized gambling prosecution unit (FEJA) argued that Polymarket allows users to place bets on real-world outcomes without meeting local regulatory requirements.
According to the complaint, users can fund accounts with crypto or traditional payment methods, open accounts quickly, and participate without standard identity or age verification processes.
Regulators said this creates exposure to financial risks, including potential access by minors.
Prosecutors described the platform as a “hidden online betting system,” where users wager on binary outcomes—such as whether a political or economic event will occur—outside the country’s licensed gambling framework.