The Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) has decided to wait for an official response from prediction market platform Polymarket before taking any action.
South Korea has become the latest jurisdiction to enter into a dispute with the business over alleged illegal gambling.
The KCSC’s Communications Review Subcommittee came to the conclusion that it would give the US operator the opportunity to state its position before making a decision on whether or not to demand corrective measures.
It follows the news that came last month, when Gangwon Provincial Police launched the country’s first illegal gambling probe into local Polymarket users, with the request reportedly coming from South Korea’s National Police Agency.
The KCSC stated: “We decided to provide an opportunity for the company to state its position to thoroughly verify the legality of Polymarket and its service operation methods.
“We plan to make a final decision on whether to issue a corrective order after comprehensively reviewing the submitted opinions and related materials.”
South Korean rules forbid users from betting on any service but Sports Toto, which is run by the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation (KSPO).
Individual bets are capped at 100,000 won ($66), but reports say bets on the 3 June election on Polymarket totalled hundreds of billions of won, leaving users liable to fines of up to 10 million won.
There is also the elephant in the room of Polymarket being classed as an illegal gambling operator in South Korea, despite its refusal to deem itself a gambling company.
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