South Korean Police Charge 26 Polymarket Users With Illegal Gambling

South Korea's move treats prediction-market contracts as gambling rather than financial instruments, a classification that could shape how other jurisdictions handle Polymarket-style platforms. For crypto traders in the region, the practical exposure is legal, not just technical: a site block was already in place, and charges now follow users rather than the operator. The question worth watching is whether this stays a domestic enforcement action or becomes a template other regulators cite when weighing prediction markets against existing gambling and derivatives rules.