.svg)
Australia’s national online gambling regulator is considering a probe into U.S. prediction market platform Polymarket and several social media influencers it allegedly paid to promote it.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is examining whether New York-based Polymarket’s alleged payments to TikTok and Instagram influencer accounts violate federal law, online news outlet Crikey.com.au reported on April 29.
Polymarket and its cryptocurrency-based transactions have run into regulatory difficulties or bans in various countries, including in the U.S. following an FBI raid in November; in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Poland in Europe; as well as in Singapore and Thailand in Asia.
Any Australian action potentially exposes Polymarket to extraterritorial action by the ACMA, in addition to regulatory action against local online influencers.
The ACMA has not confirmed that the Polymarket “information market” on world events constitutes a forum for gambling, and whether influencer promotions fall under its purview. An ACMA spokesperson did not reply to questions from Vixio GamblingCompliance at the time of publication.
The Crikey report alleged that Polymarket offered bets on the Australian federal election, which was held on Saturday (May 3), including on the next prime minister and other overall results, as well as outcomes for individual electorates.
The report alleged that at least two influencer accounts with between 130,000 and 950,000 followers, and with tags such as #polymarketpartner, posted promotions that Polymarket paid for.
Polymarket also allegedly contacted satirical news television show The Chaser with an offer to do a "paid partnership".
ACMA said after receiving that report that it will assess if Polymarket’s alleged conduct warrants a probe.
Australia joins New Zealand and India as the latest Asian-Pacific gambling jurisdictions forced to confront potentially damaging impacts of social media influencers who carry gambling or gambling-proximal advertising.
The sensitivity of the matter in New Zealand is deepened by the emergence of indigenous Maori influencers targeting their communities, which struggle with gambling problems at rates higher than the rest of the population.
In India, state authorities have extended a crackdown on promotions of chance-based gambling by celebrities and sports stars to those carried by social media influencers.
YouTube and Instagram influencers in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and other Indian states have been arrested for promoting online chance-based casino games and sports betting.
