As prediction markets that let people bet on topics such as politics, sports, and weather gain popularity, several platforms that are classified in Korea as illegal gambling sites appear easily accessible to Koreans. These platforms allow betting with virtual assets.
Polymarket, the world's largest prediction market platform, is currently classified as an illegal gambling site. Under current law, placing stakes on any betting site other than Sports Toto, operated by the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation (KSPO) with a 100,000 won betting cap, is illegal both domestically and overseas. If a Korean person participates in betting on Polymarket, they can be fined up to 10 million won.
However, anyone with dollar-based stablecoins can participate in Polymarket. The process is completed by purchasing dollar stablecoins on a domestic virtual asset exchange, moving them through a personal wallet, and depositing them on Polymarket. Participation methods on the Kalshi and PredictIt prediction market platforms are the same as on Polymarket. There is also a way to pay with debit or credit cards linked to VISA, but domestically issued payment cards are blocked.
Polymarket states in its terms of service that U.S. nationals or U.S. residents, and users in countries subject to sanctions such as those related to North Korea, cannot use the service. It also notes that if someone is found to be using a virtual private network (VPN) to spoof an IP address or to access the service by bypassing restrictions, assets may be frozen.
However, it is said that there are effectively no particular penalties even if a person with Korean nationality participates in betting on Polymarket indirectly using dollar stablecoins.
Polymarket features topics on Korea's June 3 local elections as well. Users can bet on who will be elected as heads of major metropolitan governments. The total amount wagered on the June 3 local elections across three betting sites, including Polymarket, is said to reach the tens of billions of won.
Using betting sites that the Korean government defines as illegal can result in financial losses. Hwang Seok-jin, a professor at the Graduate School of Information Security at Dongguk University, said, "If the government blocks access to the site, it may be difficult to retrieve the virtual assets deposited on the betting site, so it is advisable not to access it."