The Short Version
Since July 27, 2026 polymarket.com is blocked in Italy: the Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) put the domain back on its blocked-sites list and Italian ISPs now serve the ADM "unauthorized gambling site" page instead. It is not the first time. The first block came in October 2025, a partial reopening followed in December 2025, and the new measure landed in summer 2026. This page covers the timeline, what changes for account holders, what stays legal, and how to keep following, and practicing, the same markets from here.
| Question | Status (September 2026) |
|---|---|
| Access to polymarket.com from Italy | Blocked since July 27, 2026 (ADM measure); ISPs show the ADM block page |
| Who decided | Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli, which classifies Polymarket as an unlicensed betting operator |
| Polymarket's position | Prediction market, not a bookmaker; appeal pending before the Lazio Administrative Court (TAR) |
| User funds | Untouched: they remain in the user's on-chain wallet |
| Markets and odds | Viewable here in Italian with live probabilities, and tradable in practice mode |
Timeline
October 2025. ADM adds polymarket.com to the list of domains to be blocked. Polymarket appeals to the Lazio Administrative Court against the full block, arguing it is not a traditional betting operator but a prediction market where users buy and exchange contracts tied to the outcome of future events.
December 2025. ADM allows access to the domain to be restored: Italian users can view markets and public data, but the ban on economic operations stays. The compromise is short-lived.
April 2026. S.S. Lazio announces Polymarket as its main sponsor in a multi-year agreement worth over $22 million, just as the regulator prepares its next move.
July 2026. A new ADM measure returns the domain to the blocked list: from July 27, 2026 polymarket.com is no longer normally reachable from Italian connections.
The Legal Question
Everything turns on classification. For ADM the service amounts to collecting bets without an Italian concession; remote gaming in Italy is reserved to licensed operators and unlicensed sites are blocked by default. Polymarket has always argued it is something else: a prediction market in which the price of a Yes/No contract (0 to 100 cents) expresses the probability the market assigns to an event, with other users, not the platform, as counterparties. The distinction is not semantic: it changes the licensing regime, the tax treatment and consumer protection. Until the TAR rules, ADM's reading applies in Italy.
What Changes for Account Holders
- Access. From Italian networks the site answers with the ADM block page. It is not a browser or wallet problem.
- Funds. The block concerns the domain's reachability, not your assets: positions and USDC stay in the on-chain wallet you traded with, and open positions keep resolving under market rules.
- Circumvention. This page does not explain how. Using a VPN to reach an ADM-blocked site exposes you to penalties and breaks Polymarket's terms; the legal and tax consequences are yours.
What You Can Do From Here, Legally
This site is not Polymarket and takes no bets. It is an independent guide that shows the same markets with live probabilities, explains them, and lets you practice with a $1,000 virtual account: same markets, same prices, no real money, no wallet. For an Italian reader today it is the simplest way to understand how a prediction market works, from reading the order book to exit strategies, without touching ADM or Polymarket's terms.
For sports betting, ADM-licensed bookmakers exist in Italy. No prediction market holds an Italian licence today; Kalshi, the regulated competitor, operates only in the United States.
Why the Italian Case Matters
Italy is one of Europe's largest regulated gaming markets and one of the first to hit a prediction market with a full block, after France (2024) and Belgium (2025). The TAR Lazio appeal is Europe's first real test of the question that will decide the sector's future: is a prediction market a bet? A win for Polymarket would change the picture for the whole Union; a ruling for ADM would make the block the template.
Sources
- ADM, blocked-sites list (updates of October 2025, December 2025 and July 2026)
- L'Espresso, July 24, 2026: "Polymarket oscurato (di nuovo) in Italia dal 27 luglio"
- Il Messaggero, July 2026: "Polymarket bloccato in Italia: Adm oscura il sito dei prediction market"
- Punto Informatico: "Polymarket oscurato dall'Agenzia delle Dogane (update)"
Informational only, not legal or tax advice. Updated September 4, 2026.
