Polymarket lobbies EU and UK regulators for financial services status — FT

Polymarket, the US-based prediction markets platform, is lobbying regulators in London, Brussels and across the European Union so that its business is governed by financial services law rather than local gambling rules, according to a Financial Times report based on sources.

What the company is asking for

Polymarket wants to be supervised as a financial services firm instead of being covered by a patchwork of national gambling legislation that differs from country to country. According to the FT, its talks in London and Brussels are part of a wider push across Europe.

Gambling rules or financial oversight

The distinction is fundamental, because the two regimes impose very different obligations. Gambling licences are issued by national regulators and typically come with restrictions on advertising, on the products that can be offered and on who is allowed to take part. Financial services regulation, by contrast, is built around investor protection, market conduct rules and cross-border access requirements that can be harmonised at EU level. For a platform whose users trade on the outcome of elections, sports and other events, being classified as a financial firm would change both the authority it answers to and its ability to operate across borders.

MiFID status and Europe's debate

crypto.news reports that Polymarket is pushing for MiFID status as Europe weighs prediction market rules. MiFID, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, is the EU framework that governs investment firms and the services they provide. According to that report, the company's lobbying is unfolding against the backdrop of a broader discussion among European policymakers about how prediction markets should be treated.

Why it matters

The outcome will shape how prediction markets can operate in one of the world's largest markets. If platforms are treated as financial services firms, they gain a route to working under a single licence across EU member states, but they also take on stricter disclosure and conduct requirements. If they remain under gambling law, expansion in Europe is likely to depend on winning licences country by country.