Where Are Prediction Markets Legal? Polymarket, Kalshi, and Pariflow Availability by Country: By Artem Goryushin

Prediction markets let people trade on real-world outcomes such as elections, sports, crypto prices, interest-rate decisions, company news, macroeconomic data, and cultural events. But before choosing a platform, users usually ask a more practical question: where are prediction markets actually legal and available?

The answer is not the same everywhere. Prediction-market access depends on the platform, the user's country or region, local financial and gambling laws, sanctions rules, identity verification, and the platform's own compliance policy.

This guide compares three major prediction-market platforms: Polymarket, Kalshi, and Pariflow.

Important note: This article is general information only. It is not legal, financial, tax, or investment advice. Platform rules can change quickly. Always review the latest official terms and local law before trading.

Are Prediction Markets Legal Everywhere?

No. Prediction markets are not treated the same way in every country. In some jurisdictions, they may be regulated as financial contracts, event contracts, swaps, gambling products, betting products, gaming products, or a separate category. In other jurisdictions, the legal framework may be unclear or still developing.

The safest way to think about prediction-market access is platform by platform. A platform can be legal or regulated in one country, restricted in another, and available only in close-only mode in a third. A user may also be blocked because of sanctions, licensing scope, identity verification, age, residency, payment method, or local law.

Where Is Polymarket Available?

Polymarket publishes a geographic restrictions page for order placement. According to that page, orders submitted from blocked regions are rejected. Polymarket also provides a geoblock endpoint that builders can use to check whether an IP address is blocked before allowing users to trade.

In practical terms, Polymarket availability should be read as follows: if a country or region is not on Polymarket's blocked or close-only list, order placement may be available, subject to all other terms and compliance checks. Polymarket does not present this as a single permanent list of every available country, so users should always verify directly with Polymarket before trading.

Polymarket also states that Polymarket US is a separate CFTC-regulated Designated Contract Market operated by QCX LLC d/b/a Polymarket US, while the international Polymarket platform operates independently.

Polymarket restricted countries and close-only countries

According to Polymarket's geographic restrictions documentation, the following countries are blocked or close-only for order placement:

Polymarket restricted regions

Polymarket also lists specific restricted regions inside otherwise accessible countries:

Examples of countries where Polymarket may be available

Because Polymarket publishes restricted locations rather than a permanent master list of all allowed countries, availability is best understood as countries and regions that are not on the restricted list. Major examples that are not listed as fully blocked in the referenced Polymarket geoblocking page include:

Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, India, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, and Canada outside Ontario.

Users should still confirm current access directly with Polymarket because the platform's geoblock checks, sanctions screening, and terms may change.

Where Is Kalshi Available?

Kalshi is a US CFTC-regulated Designated Contract Market. Kalshi's help center says users can trade from many countries outside the United States, subject to the Kalshi Member Agreement, identity verification, and country-of-residence checks during signup.

Kalshi also publishes a country availability page stating that Kalshi is available in 143 countries and restricted in 52 jurisdictions. The page also notes that onchain predictions are not available in the United States.

Kalshi restricted jurisdictions

According to Kalshi's country availability page, the following jurisdictions are restricted:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Australia, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, France, Haiti, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Monaco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, North Korea, People's Republic of China, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Venezuela, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.

Examples of countries where Kalshi may be available

Kalshi says it is available in 143 countries. Based on the published restricted list, major examples of countries that are not listed as restricted include:

United States, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Ireland, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Greece, Czech Republic, Romania, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, India, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Turkey, Israel, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria is not shown as restricted on the Kalshi availability page, Morocco, Ghana, Tanzania, Uruguay, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and many others.

Kalshi eligibility still depends on account verification, country of residence, payment method, and the latest Member Agreement. International users may have different deposit and withdrawal options than US users. Kalshi's help center says international users may have access to debit card, wire transfer, and cryptocurrency options depending on their region, while ACH, PayPal, and Venmo are not available for international users.

Where Is Pariflow Available?

Pariflow is designed as a global prediction-market interface and market discovery layer. It helps users follow prediction markets and compare opportunities across major platforms and Pariflow-native markets.

Pariflow's terms state that users must be at least 18 years old or the age of majority in their jurisdiction, whichever is higher. The terms also say users are responsible for determining whether their use is lawful where they are located, and that access may be restricted or prohibited based on law, regulation, sanctions, licensing scope, or Pariflow policy.

In practical terms, Pariflow is built for broad international access, but users still need to comply with local law, identity verification, sanctions controls, and any platform-specific restrictions.

Pariflow country access links

Use the regional links below to access Pariflow from major Tier 1 and Tier 2 markets:

Polymarket vs Kalshi vs Pariflow: Which Platform Fits Which User?

Polymarket is often attractive to users who want deep crypto-native prediction-market liquidity and a broad set of fast-moving markets. Its main limitation is that international Polymarket order placement is restricted in several major countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia, Belgium, Italy, and the Netherlands, plus additional sanctioned or compliance-sensitive jurisdictions.

Kalshi is the clearest regulated US event-contract exchange. It can be useful for users who want a regulated exchange structure and are eligible under the Kalshi Member Agreement. Its limitation is that it has a published list of restricted jurisdictions, including Canada, United Kingdom, France, Australia, Italy, Singapore, Switzerland, New Zealand, and others.

Pariflow is useful for users who want a broader prediction-market interface, market discovery, and visibility into where activity is happening across prediction-market platforms. It is designed for broad access, while still requiring users to follow eligibility rules, verification requirements, sanctions controls, and local law.

Final Takeaway

Prediction markets are not available under one universal global rule. A country can be open on one platform, restricted on another, and subject to additional identity or payment limitations on a third.

For Polymarket, start with the official geoblocking list. For Kalshi, start with the country availability page and Member Agreement. For Pariflow, check the platform terms and your local eligibility requirements.

If your goal is to monitor prediction-market activity across major platforms, Pariflow can be a practical starting point because it is built around market discovery, prediction-market flow, and broad geographic access.