TechFlow News, May 5: According to a Cointelegraph report, an investigation by the Dutch financial newspaper *Het Financieele Dagblad* (FD) revealed that although Polymarket was banned in February this year by the Dutch Gaming Authority (Ksa) for operating without a gambling license, platforms including Kalshi, crypto exchange Hyperliquid, and investment giant Interactive Brokers continue to offer prediction market services to Dutch users.
A Ksa spokesperson warned that the ban on Polymarket applies equally to similar platforms: “Websites similar to Polymarket also fall within our regulatory purview and may be subject to our sanctions.” The report notes that Kalshi appears to be actively expanding into the Dutch market—users can currently place bets on matches in the Dutch Eredivisie football league and previously could bet on the Dutch general election. Hyperliquid, a decentralized blockchain platform, has recently extended its prediction market services to the Netherlands. Interactive Brokers positions its products as financial contracts rather than gambling instruments and claims oversight by the Central Bank of Ireland; however, the Central Bank of Ireland informed FD that it was unaware of this arrangement and referred related inquiries to Ireland’s gambling regulator.
Prediction markets are facing intensified regulatory scrutiny globally. Last month, Brazil banned 27 platforms—including Kalshi and Polymarket—while multiple European countries, including France, Italy, Singapore, Switzerland, Poland, Hungary, and Portugal, have also banned or penalized unauthorized platforms. In the United States, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently filed lawsuits against Illinois, Arizona, Connecticut, New York, and Wisconsin over jurisdictional disputes regarding regulation.
A London Business School study released in April found that only 3% of prediction market participants consistently generate profits, while nearly 70% incur losses.
