Polymarket Eyes Japan Expansion, Appoints Local Representative, Says Bloomberg

Prediction Market News

Prediction market platform Polymarket has appointed a local representative in Japan and is preparing to seek government approval to operate in the country, according to Bloomberg. The report, published on May 22, cited sources with knowledge of the matter who said Polymarket views Japan as a significant growth opportunity.

Mike Eidlin, who previously served as head of Japan at the Solana (SOL)-based exchange Jupiter, has been named to lead the company's expansion effort in the country, Bloomberg reported. The Block said it reached out to both Polymarket and Eidlin for comment. Polymarket is targeting regulatory authorization to operate in Japan by 2030.

Japan currently appears on Polymarket's list of restricted jurisdictions, where users are blocked from accessing the platform. The company cites regulatory requirements and compliance with international restrictions as the basis for that exclusion. Japan's Penal Code includes provisions that can make gambling-related activity a criminal matter, with sentences ranging from fines to several years in prison, though public lotteries and government-licensed horse racing are exempt.

The pachinko industry has long occupied a legal gray area in Japan through a system involving arcade-style machines and token exchanges. That precedent reflects the country's history of carving out selective exceptions to its gambling framework, which forms part of the regulatory context Polymarket is navigating as it pursues authorization.

Polymarket recorded $9 billion in monthly trading volume in April. That figure was down from $10.57 billion in March, marking the first monthly volume decline for the platform since August of last year. Rival platform Kalshi recorded $14.81 billion in April volume, up from $13 billion in March.

Polymarket has also been working to re-establish itself in the United States. The company acquired federally regulated derivatives exchange QCEX and now operates Polymarket US through that entity. The US entity is currently running under limited capacity and is reportedly in discussions with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) about restoring full exchange operations.

Regulatory reviews of prediction markets are ongoing across several jurisdictions. South Korea's Korea Communications Standards Commission is examining whether Polymarket hosts content that falls under local gambling rules, according to local outlet Bloomingbit. Indian authorities have separately blocked access to Polymarket in the country, local media outlet ThePrint reported, citing an official from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

In the US, the CFTC and the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Minnesota this week after the state passed legislation banning prediction markets. Several other US states have also issued enforcement actions related to sports-event contracts on prediction platforms. The legal landscape for prediction markets in the US remains unsettled as regulators and lawmakers work through jurisdictional questions.