Prediction Markets: Taiwan Blocks Polymarket Website Again, Cracking Down on Gambling for the Nine-in-One Elections

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Taiwan has continued investigating since blocking the Polymarket domain in December 2023. On May 8, the Qiaotou District Prosecutors Office concluded its investigation and indicted the first betting case related to the 2026 nine-in-one local elections, with a Kaohsiung man surnamed Lin charged for participating in election prediction events. Now, Polymarket's domain has once again been officially blocked from DNS resolution. (Background: Hot! Prediction market Kalshi completes $1 billion Series F funding, valuation surges past $22 billion, institutional trading volume explodes 800%) (Background context: 2026 cryptocurrency investment tax filing: differences between domestic/foreign income, can virtual currency losses be recognized? Tax audit intensity expected to rise) - The Qiaotou District Prosecutors Office indicted the first Polymarket betting case related to the 2026 nine-in-one elections on May 8, with the defendant having wagered 742.96 USDC, approximately NT$23,457 - Taiwan blocked the Polymarket domain in December 2023, with prosecutors simultaneously pursuing charges under the Election and Recall Act for election gambling offenses, arresting over 30 people to date - Prosecutors traced on-chain fund flows and cross-referenced KYC data from the MAX exchange to identify suspects; using VPN + anonymous wallets still cannot evade legal prosecution Taiwan's crackdown on Polymarket has now shifted to blocking domain resolution, while also pursuing criminal prosecution against users whose illegal betting "involves the Election and Recall Act." The Qiaotou District Prosecutors Office concluded its investigation on May 8 and indicted a Kaohsiung man surnamed Lin, who used NordVPN to disguise himself with a Japanese IP to bypass geographic restrictions, connected to Polymarket through a MetaMask wallet, and bet a total of 742.96 USDC (approximately NT$23,457) on the "2026 Taiwan Local Elections: Which Party Wins the Most Seats" market. This is the first indictment related to the 2026 nine-in-one elections. Prosecutors stated that they compared the Polymarket wallet address with on-chain interaction records from Taiwan's centralized exchange MAX, and accessed MAX's KYC data to identify the real identity. Qiaotou District Chief Prosecutor Kuo Ching-tung stated that decentralized platforms possess anonymity and cross-border liquidity characteristics, and have become "new tools for election betting and illegal interference." Now the Polymarket domain has had its DNS resolution suspended by court application, and Taiwanese users will be unable to browse Polymarket unless they use a VPN or configure alternative DNS resolution servers. Taiwan's investigation into Polymarket began in December 2023. At that time, the Yunlin District Prosecutors Office directed over 70 police officers to conduct searches in Taipei, New Taipei, Kaohsiung, Yilan, Changhua, and other locations, arresting 17 people on charges of betting on the 2024 presidential election results. The Criminal Investigation Bureau subsequently coordinated with ISPs to block the Polymarket domain at the DNS level. As long as funds have passed through Taiwan's compliant exchanges (such as MAX, BitoPro), the KYC personal data legally retained by exchanges becomes the basis for prosecutors to identify real identities. A separate case in Miaoli County also arrested 11 people, confiscating nearly $8,000 in cryptocurrency. The legal basis is Article 88-1 of the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act and the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act, which states that gambling on election results in a manner accessible to the public is punishable by up to six months in prison, with possible fines. Taiwanese law characterizes Polymarket's election prediction markets as "election gambling," not financial derivatives. Beyond the Election and Recall Act, participating in any other prediction events may also constitute gambling offenses. Polymarket's current status in Taiwan is "close-only," meaning users can browse markets and close existing positions but cannot open new positions or deposit funds. Polymarket's terms also explicitly prohibit using a VPN to bypass geographic restrictions; violators may have their accounts frozen, and funds will not be returned. This contrasts with Polymarket's global explosion. In March 2026, monthly trading volume reached an all-time high of $25.7 billion, and monthly active wallets surpassed 1.29 million. ICE (parent company of NYSE) invested up to $2 billion in 2025 and added another $600 million in March 2026, pushing the valuation to $8-9 billion. Polymarket also obtained no-action relief from the CFTC at the end of 2025, reopening to U.S. users. Taiwan's approach is not at the forefront in Asia, as Singapore similarly blocked Polymarket in January 2025, and France took action even earlier in 2024. However, Taiwan is among the few countries that simultaneously pursue both "domain blocking" and criminal prosecution. From the 2023 presidential election to the 2026 nine-in-one elections, the intensity of prosecutorial investigation has only increased. Will using Polymarket in Taiwan lead to arrest? Yes. Taiwan characterizes Polymarket's election prediction markets as "election gambling," punishable by up to six months in prison under the Election and Recall Act. Even when using a VPN to bypass geographic restrictions, prosecutors can still track on-chain fund flows and cross-reference centralized exchange KYC data to identify users. Over 30 people have been arrested to date. What is Polymarket's current status in Taiwan? Polymarket has listed Taiwan as a "close-only" region, where users can browse markets and close existing positions but cannot open new positions or deposit funds. Polymarket's terms explicitly prohibit using VPNs to bypass restrictions; violators may have their accounts frozen and funds locked.

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