Is Polymarket legal in the UAE? What the GCGRA, VARA, Kalshi and Polymarket's own lists say
Is Polymarket legal in the UAE?
Polymarket's help centre and developer geoblock page, read 27 October 2026, do not list the United Arab Emirates. The GCGRA, the federal gaming regulator, says commercial gaming in the UAE without its licence is illegal and that players using unlicensed operators may face penalties. No GCGRA licence for Polymarket was found, and Kalshi lists the UAE as a restricted jurisdiction.
Piece published Reviewed by CryptoGuardz Register Desk, editorial desk
Is Polymarket legal in the UAE? It has no licence on record, and the federal gaming regulator says unlicensed gaming is illegal. Polymarket's own help centre and developer geoblock page, read on 27 October 2026, do not list the United Arab Emirates, so the platform does not block it. The General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA) says any commercial gaming in the UAE without its licence is illegal. Kalshi bars the UAE outright.
Documents read on 27 October 2026: Polymarket's help centre, developer geoblock page and terms, the GCGRA and VARA home pages, the official text of the Crimes and Penalties Law, and Kalshi's Member Agreement. This is not legal advice.
Does Polymarket block the UAE?
No. The help centre article, updated 14 August 2026, lists the countries it calls "completely restricted" and a set of close-only countries. The United Arab Emirates is in neither table. The developer geoblock page, which the terms name as the list of Restricted Jurisdictions, does not name it either.
Polymarket's two pages disagree on other countries. For most of the countries the help centre calls blocked, the developer page says "Regulatory-Restricted Jurisdictions (Close-Only on Frontend and API)", defined as: "Users can close existing positions but cannot open new ones, on both the frontend and the API." On the UAE they agree, by saying nothing. Absence from a list means only that Polymarket does not stop UAE users. It says nothing about UAE law.
Is Polymarket licensed by the GCGRA?
No licence was found. The GCGRA describes itself as the body with the whole federal remit:
Established by Federal Law by Decree and headquartered in Abu Dhabi, the GCGRA is the executive authority that holds exclusive jurisdiction to regulate, license, and supervise all commercial gaming activities and facilities in the UAE.
Its position on unlicensed operators is blunt:
Engaging in, conducting or facilitating commercial gaming within the UAE without a license from the GCGRA is illegal and can lead to severe penalties.
The same page adds that "Consumers who play via unlicensed operators, whether online or at a physical venue, may also be subject to penalties." It also links a GCGRA Consumer Advisory Notice dated 9 December 2024 that warns residents about unlicensed lottery and gaming operators. A GCGRA licence or licence application for Polymarket was not found: not verified. Whether the GCGRA treats an event contract on a match or an election as commercial gaming has not been published in any document read: not verified. The home page does not give the number of the decree that created the authority.
What does the UAE Penal Code say about gambling?
The Penal Code is Federal Decree-Law No. 31 of 2021, the Crimes and Penalties Law. The official UAE Legislation portal publishes it, but the downloadable text read on 27 October 2026 stops partway through Article 235, and none of the articles it contains mentions gambling. The gambling articles, their penalties and any amendment were not read in a primary text: not verified. This page does not quote article numbers from secondary summaries.
Does VARA regulate Polymarket in Dubai?
Not on any document found. VARA describes its own remit as virtual assets, not betting:
responsible for regulating and overseeing the provision, use, and exchange of virtual assets
The page calls VARA "the sole authority regulating virtual assets across Dubai's free zones and mainland", with the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) outside its jurisdiction. It says nothing about prediction markets, betting or gambling. A VARA statement, licence or warning on Polymarket or prediction markets was not found: not verified. Of the documents read, the GCGRA statement above is the one that addresses wagering.
Polymarket and Kalshi in the UAE, by document
| Document | Date | What it says on the UAE |
|---|---|---|
| Polymarket help centre | Updated 14 Aug 2026 | Not listed |
| Polymarket developer geoblock page | Read 27 Oct 2026 | Not listed |
| Polymarket terms, Applicable Law | Effective 11 Aug 2026 | User warrants access breaks no local law |
| GCGRA home page | Read 27 Oct 2026 | Unlicensed commercial gaming is illegal |
| GCGRA licence for Polymarket | Not applicable | Not found, not verified |
| Crimes and Penalties Law, gambling articles | Decree-Law 31 of 2021 | Not verified |
| VARA home page | Read 27 Oct 2026 | Virtual assets only, no gambling mention |
| Kalshi Member Agreement, Section VI | Undated | UAE is a Restricted Jurisdiction |
Is Kalshi available in the UAE?
No. Section VI of Kalshi's Member Agreement bars trading event contracts by anyone domiciled in, organized in or located in a Restricted Jurisdiction. The list names 55 jurisdictions, and the United Arab Emirates is one of them, alongside the United Kingdom, Switzerland and India. The agreement is undated. So the two platforms split on the UAE: Kalshi excludes it in its contract, while Polymarket's lists are silent. The fee and market comparison is in Polymarket vs Kalshi, and the legal fight over Kalshi in the US is in Is Kalshi gambling?.
What happens to a Polymarket account used from the UAE?
The terms put the legal risk on the user. In the Applicable Law clause, the user represents that their access "is not (i) prohibited by and does not otherwise violate or assist you to violate any domestic or foreign law". With the GCGRA saying unlicensed gaming is illegal and that players may be penalised, that representation is the user's problem, not Polymarket's.
The clause after the restricted-person list, verbatim:
USE OF A VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORK ("VPN") OR ANY SIMILAR TOOL TO ATTEMPT TO OR TO CIRCUMVENT THE RESTRICTIONS SET FORTH HEREIN IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. ANY PERSON IN VIOLATION OF THESE TERMS MAY HAVE THEIR WALLETS PLACED IN CLOSE-ONLY MODE AND BE PROHIBITED FROM ACCESSING THE TECHNOLOGY FEATURES IN OUR SOLE DISCRETION.
Close-only means existing positions can be exited but not opened, at the company's discretion. How withdrawals work is in Polymarket withdrawal time. US tax treatment is in Kalshi and Polymarket taxes; UAE tax treatment of prediction-market gains was not verified. Every country Polymarket restricts is in the Polymarket restricted countries list, and the US position is in Is Polymarket legal in the US?. The same pattern, an unblocked country with a regulator that says no, is in Is Polymarket legal in Canada? for the provinces Polymarket does not list.
Quick answers
Is Polymarket legal in the UAE?
No GCGRA licence for Polymarket was found, and the GCGRA says unlicensed commercial gaming in the UAE is illegal. Polymarket's own lists, read 27 October 2026, do not block the UAE. See the restricted countries list.
Can UAE residents be penalised for using an unlicensed platform?
The GCGRA says consumers who play via unlicensed operators "may also be subject to penalties". The Penal Code articles that set those penalties were not read in a primary text: not verified.
Is Kalshi available in the UAE?
No. Kalshi's Member Agreement, Section VI, lists the United Arab Emirates among 55 Restricted Jurisdictions. The comparison covers both platforms.
Does VARA license prediction markets in Dubai?
VARA's home page, read 27 October 2026, describes a remit over virtual assets in Dubai outside the DIFC and does not mention prediction markets or gambling.
Where can I get help with gambling in the UAE?
A UAE gambling helpline was not verified in a primary source on 27 October 2026. Options are on the responsible gambling page.
Sources
- Polymarket Help Center, Geographic Restrictions, updated 14 August 2026, United Arab Emirates not listed, retrieved 27 October 2026
- Polymarket documentation, Geoblock, Restricted Jurisdictions, United Arab Emirates not listed, retrieved 27 October 2026
- Polymarket.com Terms of Use, effective 11 August 2026, Restricted Jurisdictions, Applicable Law and VPN clauses, retrieved 27 October 2026
- General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA), home page, including the Consumer Advisory Notice of 9 December 2024, retrieved 27 October 2026
- UAE Legislation portal, Federal Decree-Law No. 31 of 2021 Promulgating the Crimes and Penalties Law, official download, text available only to Article 235, retrieved 27 October 2026
- Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), home page, retrieved 27 October 2026
- Kalshi Member Agreement, undated PDF, Section VI list of 55 Restricted Jurisdictions, United Arab Emirates listed, retrieved 27 October 2026
About this piece
Compiled by the CryptoGuardz register team from the sources listed above. Research and drafting are AI-assisted and reviewed by a named editor before publication. Nothing here is a recommendation to gamble. If a figure or a reading is wrong, tell us and the correction is logged in public.