Australia’s securities regulator, ASIC, said it is “not currently convinced” that prediction markets for retail clients are in the public interest. It compared event contracts with binary options, whose sale to retail clients has been banned since 2021, with the ban extended to October 2031. ASIC also raised concerns about market manipulation and how outcomes are decided, but said no prediction market operator has applied for an Australian market licence.
ASIC says no prediction market is licensed as a financial market in Australia. It warned that Australians using offshore platforms have no protections under Australian law, while Australian financial services licensees that facilitate access still have to meet their obligations. Separately, Australia’s communications regulator blocked Polymarket as an illegal gambling service in August 2025.
