Taiwan Investigates Influencers Promoting Election Betting on Polymarket

According to CoinDesk, local law enforcement in Taiwan is investigating online influencers and community members promoting a Polymarket contract about the nation's upcoming election. Taiwan-based BlockTempo reported that multiple influencers and individuals in the crypto community have been subpoenaed for their participation in Polymarket contracts that let users bet on the outcome of the January election. There's currently over $300,000 bet on a contract regarding the outcome of the election, with the market giving the Democratic Progressive Party's Lai Ching-te, also known as William Lai, a 78% chance of winning. Betting on the outcome of an election is specifically prohibited under Article 88-1 of Taiwan's Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act. Sherman Lin, an attorney at Taipei-based Lin & Partners, told CoinDesk that law enforcement agencies in Taiwan are vigilant in investigating any gambling activities related to presidential elections. He explained that given Polymarket’s decentralized nature and lack of physical presence in Taiwan, the Taiwanese judicial system's reach over Polymarket might be limited, and law enforcement would likely target online influencers that promoted the contract. Lin also said that while there is plenty of legal precedent to go after centralized entities organizing election gambling, there's no established legal precedent in Taiwan for decentralized platforms organizing election betting.