Polymarket reportedly steps up lobbying in Europe as regulators weigh gambling vs financial services

Polymarket is reportedly pushing harder in Europe, trying to persuade regulators that its prediction markets should be treated as financial products rather than illegal gambling. That distinction matters because it determines whether the company gets a route into markets where it has already been blocked, or keeps running into the same wall.

1. According to reports, Polymarket has stepped up lobbying in the UK and across Europe as it looks for a regulatory path into jurisdictions that have pushed back against its product. The company’s message is straightforward: event contracts should be supervised as financial services, not gambling.
2. The operator has already been blocked in several European markets. The latest actions cited in the source are Denmark and Lithuania, while Italy banned the platform in August and prompted Serie A club SS Lazio to terminate its sponsorship deal with Polymarket. The Netherlands, France and Belgium have also taken action against the company.
3. In June, nine European regulators announced a joint initiative against prediction markets, warning about player protection and market integrity risks. Most European regulators have treated prediction market platforms as illegal gambling operators, with Gibraltar named as the notable exception after it granted FIFA partner ADI Predictstreet a gambling licence in time for the World Cup.
4. The Financial Times reports that Polymarket is trying to nudge European authorities toward an approach closer to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which treats certain event contracts as financial products. Reportedly, company representatives have held discussions with regulators in London and Brussels, including the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), and other national regulators across the European Union.
5. That route is not exactly smooth. The source says Polymarket has been in talks with ESMA since June, and in July ESMA said that “event contracts exist for a wide variety of event questions”, some of which could qualify as financial instruments or derivatives in the EU, while others would not. It also warned that yes-or-no event markets with fixed payouts may fall under prohibited structures, which is the part that will matter most to any PSP, acquirer, or banking partner considering exposure.

For high-risk payment providers, the practical point is simple: Europe is not treating prediction markets as a tidy subcategory of fintech. Some regulators are talking about financial instruments, others are talking about gambling restrictions, and several governments are tightening gambling rules while also trying to shut down illegal offerings. That is not a friendly environment for payments infrastructure unless the licensing position is already very clear.