Susana Parada dropped the hammer on March 17. The Buenos Aires judge ordered nationwide blocking of Polymarket after discovering the platform leaked Argentina’s February inflation figures 20 minutes early. Analysts predicted 2.6 to 2.8 percent. Polymarket contracts suddenly shifted to 2.9 percent. Trading volume hit $91,000 before INDEC published the official report. Insider information or pure coincidence? Prosecutor Juan Rozas believes the former.

The court instructed ENACOM, Argentina’s telecom regulator, to force internet providers into immediate blocking mode. Google and Apple received separate orders to delete Polymarket applications from their stores. Shayne Coplan’s platform claimed to be a prediction market. Argentine authorities call it an unlicensed gambling operation that lets children bet on economic indicators.

Lotería de Buenos Aires filed complaint finding zero valid licenses

The investigation started with Lotería de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. The city’s gambling regulator discovered Polymarket operated zero licenses in any jurisdiction they checked. Not in Argentina. Not abroad. Asociación de Loterías Estatales de Argentina confirmed the vacuum.

Prosecutors concluded the site functions as a “concealed online betting system”. Registration takes minutes. No identity verification. No age checks. “Anyone – including children and adolescents – could access the platform and begin betting without any kind of control”, the prosecutor’s office stated. Cryptocurrency transactions bypass regulatory oversight required for gambling operations. Credit cards work too. No questions asked.

Colombia banned Polymarket earlier bringing total to thirty four countries

Latin America tightens the noose. Colombia blocked Polymarket weeks earlier citing similar violations of national gambling law. Now Argentina joins the blacklist. The platform operates decentralized on Polygon network, trading USDC stablecoin on everything from election outcomes to military attacks.

Buenos Aires authorities specifically targeted the inflation prediction market that moved suspiciously before official data release. The February incident proved Polymarket’s vulnerability to insider trading. France, Italy, Germany and several European countries already ban the platform. Argentina becomes the latest jurisdiction to determine that prediction markets without CFTC-style regulation constitute illegal gambling. Coplan faces a shrinking map of legally accessible territories. The $8 billion valuation wobbles as Latin America says no.

Source: https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2026/03/17/polymarket-argentina/