Polymarket Cracks Down on VPNs, Mirroring Post-Black Friday Poker Moves

Polymarket, a prediction market platform, is cracking down on VPN usage, similar to the actions taken by online poker operators after the 2011 Black Friday crackdown. The platform is blocking certain IP addresses linked to VPN services and asking users to verify their identities. This move comes amid increased scrutiny and regulatory pressure in countries like Spain and Indonesia.

In 2011, major online poker operators exited the U.S. market following federal government actions known as Black Friday. This led to a significant shift in the online poker industry, with companies like PokerStars ultimately moving to stay within a changing regulatory environment. Some American players used VPNs to continue playing on online poker platforms that were no longer allowed to operate in the U.S.

One of the most high-profile poker VPN cases involved Gordon Vayo, an American poker pro. In 2017, Vayo took down a SCOOP event on PokerStars for nearly $700,000. However, PokerStars confiscated the money from Vayo, claiming he broke their terms of service by using a VPN to play from the U.S. Vayo filed a lawsuit against PokerStars to get the money back, stating he lived in Canada part-time and admitted to using a VPN from the U.S. When he went to withdraw the money, PokerStars froze his account and withheld the money.