Spain’s gambling regulator opened sanctioning proceedings against Polymarket and Kalshi and ordered precautionary blocks while investigating whether the platforms violated Spain’s gambling law. The regulator moved to block both platforms within 7 to 10 days, with the process expected to last three to four months. Notices were published in the Boletin Oficial del Estado after attempts to notify the platforms at foreign addresses failed. Major Spanish ISPs are expected to implement network-level DNS blocks and redirect users to a government landing page. The action follows enforcement in other European countries, including Portugal’s shutdown ultimatum and the Netherlands’ weekly fines for Polymarket. European regulators treat prediction markets as gambling under domestic rules, while the US approach is described as moving differently.
"Spain's gambling watchdog opened sanctioning proceedings against Polymarket and Kalshi, ordering precautionary blocks on both platforms while it investigates whether the unlicensed operators violated the country's gambling law. Spain's DGOJ moved to block Polymarket and Kalshi within 7 to 10 days. The process is expected to take three to four months. The Direccion General de Ordenacion del Juego (DGOJ) published the notices in the Boletin Oficial del Estado after attempts to notify the platforms at their foreign addresses failed."
"Major Spanish ISPs are expected to implement network-level DNS blocks within 7 to 10 days, redirecting users who try to reach the two domains to a government landing page. The Spanish action lands within a broader 2026 wave of European enforcement. Portugal's gambling regulator gave Polymarket a 48-hour shutdown ultimatum in January after the platform processed roughly $120 million in trading volume on the country's presidential election."
"The Netherlands followed in February, when the Dutch Gaming Authority (KSA) ordered Polymarket to stop serving Dutch users or face fines of 420,000 per week, capped at 840,000. European regulators are consistently treating prediction markets as gambling, with each member state applying domestic rules in the absence of a harmonized EU framework. The US is moving in the opposite direction."
"Polymarket faced 420K weekly fines in the Netherlands after the Feb. 2026 action. Kalshi closed a $1B Series F on May 7 as CFTC backs US prediction markets. Both platforms had recently drawn Spanish social media attention with markets pricing the early end of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's term: Kalshi's which national leader will leave office in 2026 contract listed the PM at 29%."
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