Taiwanese Officials Launch Investigation into Cryptocurrency Betting on Election Outcome: Report

With Taiwan’s presidential election just a month away, Taiwanese residents have reportedly been warned not to use cryptocurrency betting platforms to bet on the outcome of the presidential election. This advice comes amid an ongoing investigation in which several individuals have already been called for questioning.

According to recent local reports, a number of Taiwanese citizens have joined decentralized betting platform Polymarket to bet on the presidential election scheduled for January 13, 2024.

“It was reported to the community that several people had been summoned for questioning by prosecutors and investigators for their alleged participation in Polymarket betting,” the report said.

However, it is illegal to engage in election-related gambling activities in Taiwan. It was noted that there was a possibility of violating Article 88-1 of the Election and Recall Act.

The report added that there is a possibility of up to six months in prison, imprisonment or a fine of up to NT$100,000 (about $3,188 USD).

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Last year, Polymarkets faced regulatory issues in the United States.

The New York-based Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) began legal proceedings against the platform in January 2022.

The CFTC claimed that the platform has been operating an ‘illegal unregistered and undesignated facility’ since June 2020.

However, during the 2020 US elections, Polymarket recorded significant trading, setting a new volume record of over $10 million.

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