Spain Blocks Kalshi and Polymarket Over Gambling Laws

Spain's gambling regulator has blocked access to prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket, citing potential violations of the country's gambling laws, according to Decrypt.

Why It Matters

Spain joins a growing list of jurisdictions scrutinising prediction markets, which occupy a legal grey zone between financial speculation and gambling. For users and operators, the block signals that European regulators will not passively absorb the rapid growth of these platforms — enforcement action, not just warning letters, is now the tool of choice. Platforms processing real-money event contracts face the immediate risk of losing access to EU markets if they cannot demonstrate compliance with local licensing frameworks. As of June 2025, neither Kalshi nor Polymarket holds a Spanish gambling licence, which leaves them with limited legal standing to challenge the block quickly.

Context

Prediction markets allow users to trade contracts on the outcome of real-world events — elections, economic data, sports results — using cash or crypto. Polymarket, built on the Polygon blockchain, and Kalshi, a CFTC-regulated exchange in the United States, both saw user volumes surge during the 2024 US election cycle, drawing mainstream attention and regulatory scrutiny in roughly equal measure. Spain's Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ) has broad authority to mandate ISP-level blocks against unlicensed gambling services operating in the country.

What's Next

Both platforms must decide whether to pursue Spanish licensing — a process that typically takes months and requires structural compliance commitments — or accept the loss of Spanish user traffic. Any appeal or licensing application will test how regulators formally classify event-contract trading under existing gambling statutes.

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