At the heart of the issue is how prediction markets are classified. In countries like China and South Korea, wagering on uncertain outcomes is typically treated as gambling, which is heavily restricted or outright banned. This puts platforms operating in these regions under constant legal uncertainty.

Supporters argue prediction markets are fundamentally different. Unlike traditional gambling, they aggregate real-world expectations and can even outperform polls in forecasting events. The future of platforms like Polymarket in Asia will ultimately depend on whether regulators view them as financial tools—or simply another form of betting.