Taiwanese Man Accused of Using Polymarket to Bet on 2024 Elections
According to a local news source, Taiwanese prosecutors charged a man on June 18 with using the cryptocurrency betting platform Polymarket to gamble on the 2024 Taiwan elections.
The accused, referred to as “Chen,” admitted to placing bets on the presidential and legislative outcomes, resulting in deferred prosecution and a fine due to his lack of prior convictions.
Polymarket is a popular betting platform in the crypto space. It allows users to bet on various topics, from important financial decisions to trivial matters.
According to the Shilin District Prosecutor’s Office, Chen bet approximately 472 USD Coin (USDC) on Polymarket, wagering that Ko Wen-Je of the Taiwan People’s Party would win the presidential election. Additionally, Chen bet 60 USDC that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) would win more legislative seats.
A detailed investigation revealed that Chen’s actions violated Taiwan’s laws on using the Internet to gamble on election results. Between December 12 and 17 last year, Chen’s bets were identified as violations under the “Public Servants Recall Act,” which criminalizes gambling on election results involving central public officials.
“The investigation concluded that the citizen surnamed Chen violated the ‘Using the Internet to Gamble Property on the Results of the President and Vice-President Elections’ under the President and Vice President Election Recall Act,” the prosecutors noted,
Considering his lack of prior convictions, Chen admitted to the crime and was granted deferred prosecution for a year. He was fined 30,000 yuan (approximately $4,000).
Taiwan has been actively investigating and warning its citizens against using crypto betting platforms like Polymarket to gamble on election
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