A court in Argentina has ordered a nationwide blockade of main cryptocurrency marketplace Polymarket over unauthorized gambling.
Argentina’s national communications and media regulator, Ente Nacional de Comunicaciones (ENACOM), has received a court order to block access to the Polymarket website and its variants throughout the country, According to judgment of March 11.
The order was issued by the Court of First Instance of Buenos Aires in Criminal, Petty and Misdemeanor Case No. 31, which is investigating Polymarket under the Argentine Penal Code for allegedly offering gambling services without a permit.
The judge asked ENACOM to implement the measure directly or through internet service providers (ISPs) and to immediately inform the court or the gambling prosecutor’s office if technical or other obstacles prevent full implementation of the judgment.
The case was opened by the Buenos Aires regulator
According to According to local media, the case was brought by the Buenos Aires City Lottery (LOTBA), a state-owned company that regulates gambling activities in the city.
After receiving a complaint from LOTBA regarding Polymarket’s alleged unauthorized operation, prosecutor Juan Rozas, head of the Municipal Prosecutor’s Office for Specialized Gaming (FEJA), initiated an investigation, which led to the court’s order.
Authorities argued that Polymarket allowed users to place bets without sufficient identity and age verification, raising concerns that minors could access the platform.
“In practice, this meant that anyone – including children and teenagers – could access the bets and start betting without any control,” the authorities said.
Inflation bets deepen scrutiny
In addition to ordering ENACOM to block access to Polymarket, the court also reportedly ordered Google and Apple to remove and restrict the platform’s Android and iOS mobile apps throughout Argentina, including for existing users.
Reports on social media indicate users discuss workarounds like VPNs while observers note that the order comes from the Buenos Aires Municipal Court and not the national government.
The move complements Polymarket’s earlier scrutiny after its inflation forecast markets closely mirrored official data from Argentina’s statistics agency, again raising concerns about potential insider trading. According to for local reports.
Polymarket did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.
Related: CFTC Chairman Endorses Blockchain-Based Prediction Markets as ‘Truth Machines’
Argentina’s actions are the latest example of moves against forecasting markets around the world, with countries including the Netherlands, Hungary, Portugal and Ukraine taking similar steps to restrict access.
In Latin America, Colombia was one of the first to take action with its gaming regulator warning unauthorized Polymarket operations in September 2025.
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