Prosecutors in Taiwan have charged a man with using crypto betting platform Polymarket to place bets on the 2024 elections, which ended on June 13.
Breaking laws by betting on election results
The Shilin County Prosecutor’s Office accused a man surnamed “Chen” of betting about 472 USD Coin on Polymarket that Taiwan People’s Party candidate Ko Wen-je would win the presidential election. In addition, Chen bet $60 on predicting that the country’s Democratic Progressive Party would win more seats in the legislature.
Prosecutors’ investigation found that Chen had violated laws regarding the use of the Internet to gamble on election results. Taiwan’s President and Vice President Election Recall Act prohibits citizens from betting on election results over the Internet.
Chen confessed to the crime and was granted a deferred prosecution. Because he had no previous convictions, he was allowed to defer prosecution for a year and pay a fine of 30,000 yuan (about $4,000).
Research into the use of Polymarket is still ongoing
Taiwan is investigating the use of the Polymarket crypto betting platform by citizens ahead of the elections. In 2023, several individuals were called in for an investigation into their alleged involvement in crypto betting on election results.
Citizens have been warned not to use crypto betting platforms for election results as it is against the law. According to a local report, violators could face up to six months in prison, detention or fines of more than $3,000.
What exactly is Polymarket?
Polymarket is a popular betting platform that many gamblers use in the crypto world. The platform allows users to place bets on serious matters, such as the decision on a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, as well as on less serious matters, such as how often Elon Musk would post on X or the temperature rise.
In 2022, Polymarket faced regulatory challenges in the US. The betting platform settled with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to pay $1.4 million in fines and was ordered to roll back all markets that did not comply with CFTC and Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) regulations.
Despite these challenges, the platform remained successful and attracted major investors. On May 14, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Peter Thiel’s venture capital firm Founders Fund led a $70 million investment in the crypto betting platform.
Source: https://newsbit.nl/man-in-taiwan-beschuldigd-van-gokken-op-verkiezingen-via-crypto-wedplatform-polymarket/
