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India to block Kalshi, Polymarket under IT Act

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India's IT ministry issued a blocking order for Polymarket and plans to block Kalshi by Friday under Section 69A of the IT Act

Both platforms are US-based prediction marketplaces for betting on future outcomes, accessed via mirror sites to bypass the ban

The ban is part of a wider crackdown on online real-money gaming and opinion trading, following the Online Gaming Act, 2025

India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued a blocking order against Polymarket, a US-based prediction marketplace.
MeitY is also in the process of issuing a similar blocking order against Kalshi, another US prediction platform, expected by Friday.
The blocking orders are issued under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, which allows the government to block online content.
Both platforms allow users to bet on future outcomes, such as election results or economic events, and collect winnings.
Users in India had been accessing these platforms through mirror sites, which are exact copies hosted on separate servers to bypass blocks.
The action is part of a broader government crackdown on online real-money gaming (RMG) and opinion trading.
Last year, Parliament passed legislation prohibiting online real-money gaming and related advertisements, and the Online Gaming Act, 2025, took effect on May 1.

The ban is part of the Centre's wider effort to regulate and restrict online betting and opinion trading platforms.
Kalshi and Polymarket fall under the ban because they allow users to collect winnings from event outcomes, which is considered a form of gambling.
Earlier, homegrown apps like Probo, TradeX, and MPL's Opinio had already gone dark after a similar clampdown last year.
The platforms' crypto-powered nature also brings them under rules requiring virtual digital asset (VDA) service providers to register with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).
Separately, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been probing real-money gaming companies over alleged links to illegal betting.

Kalshi and Polymarket are US-based prediction marketplaces where users trade contracts based on the outcome of future events.
Users can bet on a wide range of topics, including politics, economics, and entertainment.
The platforms make money by charging fees on trades or winnings.
They operate globally but are now blocked in India.
The companies are not based in India and have no physical presence there.
Their services are accessed online, which makes them subject to government blocking orders.

MeitY is expected to issue the blocking order for Kalshi by Friday.
The government may continue to monitor and block mirror sites that emerge after the ban.