Ukraine Orders Internet Service Providers to Block Access to Polymarket

Posted on: January 13, 2026, 10:28h. 

Last updated on: January 13, 2026, 10:28h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.
  • Ukraine continues to crack down on illegal gambling websites
  • The country has ordered ISPs to inhibit access to thousands of gambling platforms
  • The latest ban includes restricting access to Polymarket, a cryptocurrency prediction market

Ukraine is ordering internet service providers (ISPs) to block access to hundreds of additional websites that have been deemed unlawful gambling. The instruction includes the popular prediction market platforms Polymarket.

Ukraine online casino website
Sloviansk, Ukraine, is pictured after a Russian bomb strike heavily damaged and partially destroyed houses on Jan. 10, 2026. In less important news out of Ukraine, the government has banned additional websites deemed to be running illegal gambling operations. (Image: Getty)

Most forms of gambling were outlawed in Ukraine until 2020, when President Volodymyr Zelensky authorized iGaming and casinos at hotels with at least 100 rooms. Many online casinos, however, have since posed as legitimate operations but are in fact unlicensed. There have also been reports of illegal casino websites operating from foreign countries, including Russia.

PlayCity, the gaming regulatory agency in Ukraine, has assisted the Ukrainian government in blocking more than 4,500 websites deemed to be illegal gambling businesses. In December, PlayCity recommended that another 200 unlawful casino and gambling websites be blocked.

Polymarket Banned for War Contracts

After reviewing the list of PlayCity’s additional illegal betting websites, Ukraine directed ISPs to obstruct access to the online platforms through an order approved by the National Commission for State Regulation of Electronic Communications. The newly banned websites include Polymarket, a decentralized prediction market that deals exclusively in cryptocurrencies.

Polymarket was already banned in 33 countries, with many taking issue with the platform’s offering of contracts involving the outcomes of war. PlayCity said Polymarket is an illegal gambling operation that’s facilitating the buying and selling of share outcomes of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war.

Indeed, Polymarket continues to run contracts asking when a ceasefire will be reached. More than $13 million has been staked on a ceasefire by Jan. 31, 2026, with current shares suggesting just a 3% chance. A ceasefire by March 31, 2026, which has over $8 million traded, implies a likelihood of 12%. A ceasefire by the end of the year, a market with $6 million exchanges, gives 44% odds.

Polymarket traders say there’s a 28% chance Zelensky is out as Ukraine president by the year’s end. More than $1 million has been traded on that contract.

Last year, Polymarket ran almost 100 contracts involving the Russia-Ukraine war, with nearly $100 million traded around the world on the outcomes.

Russia and Ukraine have been at war since February 2022, when Vladimir Putin launched a “special military operation” to “demilitarize and denazify” Ukraine.

Banned, Allowed Websites

PlayCity maintains a list of banned gaming websites that ISPs within Ukraine must uphold. While Polymarket is forbidden, other prediction markets, including Kalshi, Gemini, and PredictIt, remain accessible.

Ukraine generally permits online sweepstakes casinos, which continue to face scrutiny in the United States. Online casinos licensed in Ukraine include Stake, Lucky Goldfish, and ROX Casino.