Indian government set to block Polymarket, Kalshi to crack down on prediction markets

The Government of India is expected to formally block Kalshi, a US-based prediction market platform, weeks after the platform was supposed to have stopped being accessible in India following regulatory restrictions. A prediction market platform like Kalshi allows you to make bets on various kinds of predictions, that can range from sports results to election results, and even peace deals. As per a report by The Print, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is expected to send a blocking order to Kalshi as early as Friday. The ministry has already sent a similar order to Polymarket, another prediction market platform. Read Full Story What are prediction markets? As the name suggests, a prediction market works on predictions on a whole host of different topics. That is, you can make bets based on whether a specific event takes place or not. At the time of writing, Polymarket had bets open for predictions such as “US x Iran permanent peace deal by...?” and “OpenAI IPO by...?” And, you can also make bets on cricket, including the IPL. As per a Bloomberg report, these platforms drew significant bets on IPL matches. One game between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bengaluru on May 7, reportedly saw trading of around $27.7 million (roughly Rs 266 crore) across Kalshi and Polymarket. Though it is unclear how much of it came from India. Besides Kalshi and Polymarket, platforms such as Bitclout, Hedgehog and PlotX also operate in the prediction and opinion trading space. Why is India cracking down on prediction markets? The crackdown comes after Parliament passed The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, or PROGA, in August 2025. Under PROGA, games such as RummyCircle's rummy, Adda52's poker and Dream11's fantasy cricket, which had previously been protected as skill games, are now treated as banned online money games regardless of skill. Several domestic operators exited the category after the law took effect. For Kalshi and Polymarket, both of which allow users to put real money on the outcome of events, the government's position is the same. The government has previously stated that online gambling platforms had raised concerns over addiction, financial losses, money laundering and suicides. Government of India sends letter to VPN providers On April 25, 2026, MeitY sent a letter to VPN service providers, warning that users were accessing "illegal and blocked prediction market and online betting platforms" despite "domestic prohibitions". The advisory specifically named Polymarket and similar platforms, which it said were supposed to be cut off by internet service providers. It also warned VPN providers that they would have "exposure to consequential legal action" if they allowed access to the venues. The advisory was posted on the ministry’s website. Though reports indicate that the government is expected to use Section 69A of the Information Technology Act for the blocking order, rather than the new gaming law. Section 69A allows the Centre to restrict access to websites, apps and social media profiles, and was the same provision used to ban TikTok in India. Any intermediary that fails to comply with a direction issued under it can face imprisonment of up to seven years as well as a fine. Polymarket, Kalshi still accessible in India for now At the time of writing, both Polymarket and Kalshi were still allowing users from india to sign up and trade on the platforms. Kalshi’s legal counsel, Valeria Vouterakou, told Bloomberg last week, “We will comply with the government’s requests should they make them.” Polymarket, which does not list India among its restricted countries, said it was "committed to complying with applicable laws and regulations across all jurisdictions in which it operates" and that it maintained and updated geoblocking measures where its services were not permitted. Reports state that some Indian internet providers have been blocking access to Polymarket's website, while users on the platform's official Discord server have shared tips on changing DNS settings to get around the block. Ends