South Korea probes Polymarket users, Armenia sets 2027 ISP blocking for illegal sites, and Kalshi hits $400 million monthly in commodities predictions

This week’s batch of regulatory and market signals is exactly the kind of thing payment teams in high-risk verticals need to track: enforcement is getting more specific, infrastructure blocking is getting built into law, and prediction markets are moving real volume in commodity-linked contracts.

1. South Korean police have started summoning Polymarket users for questioning over illegal betting. For PSPs and acquiring teams, the point is not the brand name itself; it is the fact that authorities are treating user activity around prediction-style products as a gambling enforcement issue.
2. Armenia will begin blocking illegal websites through internet service providers from February 2027. That gives the market a hard date on when ISP-level blocking becomes part of the compliance environment, which matters for operators and payment providers serving or touching Armenian traffic.
3. Bangladesh’s regulator has demanded immediate action from Google over gambling content. When a regulator goes directly to a platform like this, the practical signal for high-risk businesses is that discovery, distribution, and payment flows can all come under pressure at the same time.
4. Kalshi’s volume on oil, gas, and metals price forecasts has reached $400 million per month. That is a material number for anyone watching how prediction markets are scaling beyond politics and sports-style speculation into commodities-linked contracts.
5. Kazakhstan was used to bring in foreign drop mules and open bank accounts for receiving payments from players of illegal casinos. That is a straightforward reminder that account opening, mule detection, and merchant monitoring are still central controls for banks and PSPs exposed to gambling traffic.
6. In Russia, more than 700 people filed a self-ban on gambling through MFCs in the first six days. For operators, that is a sign that self-exclusion tools can move quickly once made accessible through public-service infrastructure.
7. Illegal online gambling in Europe reached €12 billion in 2025. For licensed operators and their payment partners, that number is the backdrop: the gray market is large enough to keep attracting traffic, payment methods, and regulatory attention.