Polymarket’s vice president of engineering, Josh Stevens, clarified that the prediction market platform is not adding mandatory Know Your Customer (KYC) checks to its existing service, following a report that the company is considering user verification requirements.

Stevens said An X replies that Polymarket is launching a new beta product for a select group of users and that KYC is only required to access the beta during its initial test period. “No KYC is being added to any part of the existing polymarket.com with this launch,” Stevens wrote. Once the product is out of beta, no KYC will be required to use it, he said.

That later Addressed Questions about whether KYC could be added later, saying “no” and clarifying that it is “only highlighting” that identity checks are linked to early access to the new beta product rather than a wider transition from pseudonymous trading on Polymarket’s central prediction market.

The clarification followed a report by The Information that Polymarket had considered mandatory user verification requirements amid growing pressure from regulators.

Cointelegraph reached out to Polymarket and Josh Stevens for more information but did not receive a response from the publication.

Source: Josh Stevens

Polymarket restrictions increase amid regulatory scrutiny.

Polymarket’s clarification comes as the platform faces widespread access restrictions in several jurisdictions.

As of Thursday, the polymarket listed Dozens of restricted jurisdictions, including countries where users are barred from placing orders and others where access is limited to closing existing positions.

Related: Monthly forecast market volume reaches $25.7B as user activity moves beyond one-off events.

In April, Brazil moved to block 27 prediction market platforms, including Polymarket and Kalashi, after authorities said the services were operating outside the country’s legal framework.

In May, Spain’s gambling regulator also blocked local users of Polymarket and Kulshi as a “precautionary measure” while authorities prosecuted alleged unlicensed gambling activity.

Despite the restrictions, Polymarket has continued to expand into major markets. In April, the company was reportedly in talks with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission for a broader U.S. relaunch, and in May, it was reportedly trying to enter Japan despite the country’s strict gambling laws.

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