Ukraine has banned Polymarket, and the current legal framework in Ukraine does not recognize prediction markets.

Foresight News reports that, according to CoinDesk, several days after Ukraine blocked Polymarket and nearly 200 gambling-related websites, Dmitry Nikolaievskyi, Chief Legal Officer of the Digital Economy Development Office of the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation, stated in an interview with CoinDesk that, under current Ukrainian law, Web3 prediction markets have no legal operational pathways in Ukraine. Although the decision to ban Polymarket followed existing legal procedures, the fundamental issue is that the country’s legal framework does not recognize prediction markets at all.

Previously, the National Electronic Communications Regulatory Commission of Ukraine (NKEK) issued an order requiring internet service providers to block access to prediction markets. This order was issued based on the recommendation of Ukraine’s national gambling regulator, PlayCity, which pointed out that Polymarket does not hold a gambling license, and its market nature is special, including bets related to the Russia-Ukraine war.