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Polymarket has found itself in a whole lot of hot water in Indonesia.
Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous nation and Southeast Asia’s largest economy, has moved to block Polymarket in the wake the platform offering trading (betting) on a premature end of Prabowo Subianto’s presidency.
Ministry official Alexander Sabar in a statement late on Friday said Polymarket was classified by Indonesia as an online gambling platform and its activities "contain betting and speculation over events that are inconclusive", therefore violating Indonesian law.
Indonesia's government was combing over all social media accounts affiliated with Polymarket, ministry official Sabar said.
Polymarket attracted attention on social media in Indonesia last week after a bet opened on when Prabowo would be "out as president". His term expires in 2029.
The wager was launched on May 21, the day after Prabowo announced a major plan to centralise control of Indonesia's most prized commodity exports, such as coal and palm oil. Prabowo's administration has been under scrutiny from investors this year over its economic policy.
The popular prediction market platform is currently banned or geo-blocked in more than 30 countries and territories while a number of U.S. states are attempting to follow suit with mixed results in the courts.
Indonesia has some of the strictest anti-gambling laws in the world, influenced heavily by Islamic law and national criminal statutes and is known to block certain sites. Online gambling, especially on soccer matches, is still quite popular in Indonesia nonetheless.
Those in Indonesia are known to access gambling sites via VPNs. It is estimated that some 55% of the population or internet users use VPNs in some capacity.
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
