Authorities in Buenos Aires moved swiftly after a court ruling on Polymarket Argentina raised new concerns over crypto prediction markets and regulatory oversight in the country.
Argentina orders nationwide block on Polymarket
On March 16, Judge Susana Parada ordered a nationwide block on Polymarket after a Buenos Aires court ruled against the platform. The decision instructed the telecom regulator ENACOM to coordinate with internet providers and digital platforms to restrict access across Argentina.
According to the ruling, ISPs must block the website, while app distribution platforms must prevent new downloads. Moreover, users on Android and iOS devices can no longer access the application from within the country, even if they had previously installed it.
Authorities argued that the platform operated as an unlicensed gambling service under local rules. That said, the order framed the activity primarily under Argentina’s gambling regulations rather than broader financial or securities law.
Regulators cite unauthorized gambling activity
The case began after complaints from the Buenos Aires City Lottery, known as LOTBA, and the Argentine Chamber of Casinos, CASCBA. These entities claimed that Polymarket functioned as an unauthorized betting platform open to local users without the licenses required for gambling operators.
Following these complaints, prosecutors from FEJA opened a criminal investigation under the supervision of Judge Parada. However, officials focused the probe on licensing status and consumer protections rather than on market manipulation or securities violations.
Investigators reported that users could open accounts within minutes and trade on events using crypto assets as well as credit cards. They also said the platform lacked identity and age verification tools, which, according to the court, significantly increased risks for minors and facilitated unregulated gambling activity.
Judge Parada therefore ordered ENACOM to block the platform nationwide without delay. In addition, the court directed Apple and Google to remove the application from their local stores in Argentina and apply the restriction even to existing Argentine accounts.
Inflation data leak controversy and enforcement pressure
The judicial action followed a controversy linked to Argentina’s inflation statistics for February. Reports showed that Polymarket displayed a 2.9% inflation figure minutes before INDEC publicly released the official data, raising questions about a potential leak of market-sensitive information.
Moreover, data analysis highlighted a pattern of small but precisely timed wagers by accounts that ordinarily placed minimal trades. Officials said these transactions, coupled with the early appearance of the 2.9% figure, fueled suspicions of insider activity and possible data misuse around the inflation release.
The newspaper Clarín reported that both authorities and journalists reviewed the unusual trading behavior on the platform. However, the ruling itself centered on licensing and consumer protection, leaving any potential insider information investigation in the background for now.
Authorities later argued that the early inflation posting increased political and regulatory pressure to act against crypto-based betting platforms. They said the platform’s design enabled fast, lightly supervised trading, which, in their view, warranted a strong enforcement signal.
ENACOM and judicial order enforcement
Under the court’s instructions, ENACOM now oversees the technical enforcement process with telecom operators. That said, the regulator must coordinate blocks at the network level and monitor whether ISPs and app stores comply fully with the judicial order enforcement mandate.
The court also clarified that the order applies to all forms of digital access in Argentina. As a result, both mobile networks and fixed broadband providers are expected to implement the measures, while global platforms such as Apple and Google must geographically restrict distribution to Argentine users.
A summary of the decision circulated widely after a post by Wu Blockchain, which stated that Argentina had ordered a nationwide block of the crypto-based prediction market platform and instructed major app stores to remove it for local users.
Regional precedents and global regulatory landscape
Argentina is now the second Latin American country to impose a full block on Polymarket. In September 2025, Colombia’s gambling regulator Coljuegos ordered a nationwide restriction, concluding that the platform operated without the license required to offer betting services in that jurisdiction.
Moreover, officials confirmed that Polymarket currently faces full restrictions in at least 34 countries, reflecting growing global scrutiny of event-based crypto betting venues. These measures underline how prediction market regulation is increasingly framed through gambling and consumer protection law.
In the United States, the regulatory picture looks different. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission previously circulated a 2024 draft rule targeting political prediction markets but later dropped that proposal. However, the CFTC has not announced new enforcement steps directly against Polymarket since then.
The combination of Argentina’s block, Colombia’s earlier decision, and ongoing debates in the U.S. and elsewhere shows how legal uncertainty continues to shape the future of crypto-based prediction markets worldwide.
Overall, Argentina’s latest move against Polymarket underscores how gambling law, data sensitivity, and digital platform oversight are converging as regulators reassess the risks of crypto-native betting and prediction services.
Source: https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2026/03/17/polymarket-argentina/
