The Netherlands Gambling Authority (Kansspelautoriteit, KSA) said on Tuesday it issued a conditional penalty order against Adventure One, an affiliate of prediction market platform Polymarket, for allegedly offering unauthorized gambling services to Dutch residents without a license.
Dutch authorities ordered the company to “cease its activities immediately” or face penalties of up to roughly $990,000 (about €900,000) if it fails to comply. The regulator said Adventure One violated Dutch gambling laws by offering unauthorized betting products, including contracts tied to elections, and the company had not responded to requests to address these activities.
”Prediction markets are on the rise, including in the Netherlands,” said the Netherlands Gambling Authority’s director of licensing and supervision, Ella Seijsener. “These types of companies offer bets that are not permitted in our market under any circumstances, not even by license holders.”
Polymarket and other event contract platforms face similar regulatory scrutiny in the United States, where state authorities have challenged certain prediction markets on gambling grounds. However, the chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said on Tuesday that he would defend the agency’s “exclusive jurisdiction” over prediction markets, criticizing state-level action.
Related: Polymarket’s lawsuit could decide who regulates US prediction markets
Cointelegraph reached out to Polymarket for comment, but had not received a response at the time of publication. The company’s chief legal officer, Neal Kumar, said on Feb. 9 that Polymarket “welcome[s] dialogue with other states while the federal courts” consider the issue of jurisdiction in the US.
Dutch House advances 36% capital gains proposal affecting crypto
The Polymarket crackdown in the Netherlands came within a week of the country’s House of Representatives advancing a proposal to introduce a 36% capital gains tax on investments that would likely include cryptocurrencies. If passed by the Dutch Senate and signed into law, it could take effect as early as 2028.
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