Polymarket is not legally usable in Australia. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) ordered Australian internet providers to block the platform in August 2025 after finding it offered unlicensed gambling services to Australian residents, and that order remains in force in 2026.
The ban has not moved in either direction since. Canberra used an April 2026 overhaul of gambling advertising law to reaffirm that prediction markets sit inside existing gambling regulation, and a June 2026 SBS News investigation found young Australians are still trading on Polymarket and Kalshi despite the restriction, using tools that carry real financial risk most of them have not thought through.
ACMA has also confirmed something worth knowing before you decide anything: using a VPN to reach a blocked site is not itself a criminal act under Australian law. That fact says nothing about what happens to your money if Polymarket decides your account breaches its terms, which is the actual risk this guide focuses on.
Key Takeaways
The short version, before the detail:
- Polymarket has been ISP-blocked in Australia since 13 August 2025 under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.
- The law targets Polymarket as the operator, not individual users, so Australians who access it face no criminal charge.
- ACMA has confirmed that circumventing the block itself is not illegal, but doing so still breaches Polymarket’s own terms of service.
- A suspended or flagged account has no Australian consumer protection body that can force a payout.
- Interactive Brokers’ ForecastTrader is currently the closest AFSL-licensed alternative open to Australian residents.
Why Polymarket is blocked in Australia?
The block runs through the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, the federal law that bars operators anywhere in the world from offering unlicensed gambling services to people physically in Australia.
ACMA’s investigation, triggered by Polymarket paying Australian TikTok and Instagram influencers to promote election betting markets ahead of the 2025 federal election, concluded the platform was providing what the regulator classified as a prohibited interactive gambling service, specifically citing its in-play betting function. No Australian gambling licence covers Polymarket’s model, so the platform never had a legal path to keep operating once ACMA made that finding.
For readers new to how the underlying platform works, our primer on what Polymarket actually is covers the order-book mechanics, USDC settlement, and the Polygon network the platform runs on, all of which matter for understanding what a blocked account actually holds.
| Date | Development |
|---|---|
| 13 August 2025 | ACMA directs Australian ISPs to block Polymarket under the IGA |
| 2 April 2026 | Australia announces a broader gambling advertising crackdown that reaffirms prediction markets sit inside existing gambling law |
| June 2026 | SBS News reports young Australians still trading on blocked platforms, and ACMA confirms VPN circumvention is not itself illegal |
What the ban means for Australians right now
Individual users cannot be prosecuted under the IGA. The offence provisions target operators, a deliberate policy choice rather than an oversight, and it is why no Australian has faced charges for having used Polymarket before or after the block. The exposure that actually matters sits elsewhere, with the platform itself.
Polymarket’s terms restrict access from jurisdictions where it is blocked, and accounts detected as originating from Australia, whether through direct access or a VPN, are subject to compliance review and possible suspension.
Because Polymarket settles through USDC on Polygon but manages deposits and withdrawals through its own centralised interface, a flagged account can lose withdrawal access with no Australian regulator able to intervene. Our breakdown of whether Polymarket can freeze your funds goes deeper into what the platform’s terms of service actually allow and what recourse, if any, exists.
Tax exposure on funds already in a Polymarket account
Recreational gambling winnings are not treated as assessable income by the Australian Taxation Office, and that treatment applies whether the winnings arrive in AUD or in a crypto asset like USDC. That does not make the activity tax-free.
- Buying USDC with AUD sets your cost base but is not itself a taxable event.
- Converting USDC back to AUD, or to another crypto asset, is a disposal and can trigger a capital gains tax event on any appreciation since purchase, regardless of how the underlying trades performed.
- Systematic, profit-motivated trading conducted in a businesslike way can be reclassified by the ATO as assessable business income rather than casual gambling.
The practical result is that you can owe CGT on the crypto side of your activity even in a year where your net trading result was a loss. Keep dated records of every acquisition and disposal; a registered tax agent familiar with crypto assets is worth the fee if the amounts are material.
Legal alternatives to Polymarket for Australian traders
No fully licensed, purpose-built prediction market operates in Australia at Polymarket’s scale. Kalshi has self-restricted Australian access rather than pursue local licensing. The most accessible legitimate route is an internationally regulated broker holding an Australian Financial Services Licence, with Interactive Brokers’ ForecastTrader product the current example offering event contracts on outcomes like interest rate decisions and economic data releases.
- Confirm any platform’s AFSL claim directly on ASIC’s professional registers search before depositing anything.
- Expect mandatory KYC under AUSTRAC’s anti-money-laundering rules, including a photo ID and a recent address document, on any compliant platform.
- Fund in AUD through a bank transfer or BPAY. You do not need to buy crypto to access this route, which sidesteps the CGT layer entirely.
The market catalogue is narrower than Polymarket’s global range, and licensed brokers charge per-trade commissions Polymarket does not. For most Australian readers, that trade-off buys consumer protection and an external dispute resolution path through the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, which no offshore, blocked platform can offer.
What to watch as Australia rethinks prediction markets
The pressure is not coming from Polymarket lobbying for reentry. It is coming from the gap between the ban and actual behaviour. The same SBS report that prompted ACMA’s VPN clarification also profiled Australians running active trading systems against the block with, in ACMA’s own words, no criminal exposure for doing so. That gap between what is illegal and what is happening is usually where regulatory reviews start.
Nothing about the current legal status is likely to change quickly. If you are weighing prediction markets against the broader field, our country-by-country legality breakdown is the next useful read, particularly if you split time between Australia and a jurisdiction where the platform still operates freely.
Frequently Asked Questions
The questions Australian readers ask most often about this ban:
Is Polymarket legal in Australia?
No. Polymarket has been classified as a prohibited interactive gambling service under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, and ACMA has directed all Australian ISPs to block access since 13 August 2025. That status has not changed as of mid-2026.
Can Australians be prosecuted for using Polymarket?
No. The Interactive Gambling Act targets operators, not individual consumers, so accessing a blocked platform carries no criminal penalty for the user. The financial risk instead sits with Polymarket’s own terms of service and the lack of any Australian recourse if the platform restricts your account.
Is it illegal to use a VPN to access Polymarket in Australia?
No. ACMA has confirmed that circumventing the geo-block itself is not illegal under Australian law. It does breach Polymarket’s terms of service, and accounts detected doing so are subject to compliance review or suspension, which is a platform risk rather than a legal one.
What happens to money already in a Polymarket account?
Polymarket can restrict withdrawal access on any account it flags as Australian, and no Australian regulator has jurisdiction to compel a payout. Document your holdings and transaction history and consider independent legal advice if a meaningful balance is affected.
