Polymarket, the world’s largest decentralized prediction market, has become inaccessible to users in India, while local reports indicate that rival platform Kalshi could soon face similar restrictions.
Users trying to access Polymarket are currently seeing a “This site can’t be reached” message, with repeated attempts to reload the page failing, suggesting a broader access block rather than a temporary technical issue.
The outage comes after an April 25 advisory from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), which directed VPN service providers to block access to “illegal and blocked prediction market and online betting platforms.” The advisory stated that users were still bypassing restrictions to access such services despite domestic prohibitions.
Following the directive, internet service providers were instructed to restrict access to prediction markets, with Polymarket reportedly among the primary platforms targeted for enforcement.
Kalshi, a prediction market regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), remains accessible in India for now. However, reports citing sources within MeitY suggest that authorities have already issued a blocking order for Polymarket and may soon extend similar action to Kalshi.
Prediction markets allow users to bet on or trade the outcome of real-world events such as elections, financial prices, and policy decisions. The sector gained global attention during the 2024 U.S. presidential election, when it became widely used for speculative positioning and hedging.
Indian regulators classify such platforms as online money gaming, bringing them under restrictions outlined in the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, effectively prohibiting their operation in the country.
The government has maintained a strict stance on crypto and related digital asset services, emphasizing financial oversight and capital controls. It has also imposed a 30% tax on crypto gains and a 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) on transactions, measures that have significantly reduced trading activity domestically.
Regulatory oversight has been strengthened through Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorist Financing (CFT) rules enforced via the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). This tightening framework has contributed to several crypto firms shifting operations to more favorable jurisdictions such as Dubai and Singapore.
Meanwhile, India’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance recently met representatives from major crypto exchanges, including Binance, WazirX, and ZebPay, in Delhi on May 20 to review taxation and regulatory issues surrounding the virtual digital assets (VDA) sector.
The committee also raised concerns about substantial crypto-driven capital outflows from the country.
