Somewhat related to this same debate on censorship:

French regulators order block of Polymarket's website [0]

> The French gambling regulator said the site's continued availability constituted advertising. A ban on financial transactions to the site was already in place.

After failing to compel Polymarket to geoblock France, it's crazy that French "regulators" can just order ISPs to block a website without any judicial review just because the mere existence of it on the internet constitutes "advertising" to French people.

It seems like the EU in general is struggling badly with how to control internet access. Whether it's blocking VPNs, requiring access to private chats, or just blocking websites completely.

[0] https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2026/07/17/france-b...

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spiderfarmer an hour ago | parent [-]

I don’t think it’s crazy to enforce laws, especially given the leeway the government gave that predatory website.

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VWWHFSfQ an hour ago | parent [-]

> given the leeway the government gave that predatory website.

They are only blocking it because the French gambling mafia/authority is not getting their cut. They do not care in any way at all about a "predatory" gambling website.

They just want their share.

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LunaSea 10 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

So why are all 50 US states not allowing sports betting?

	▲	petcat 4 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		I don't care about sports betting. I care about government blocking websites just because it exists on the internet. It was already illegal for Polymarket to accept bets from French people. FanDuel cannot operate in France but their website isn't blocked. So how do we explain this? France, EU, Italy, Spain, La Liga are just consistently making fools out of themselves trying to block everything on the internet when they don't like it. Maybe it's just because regulatory censorship is inconsistent and doesn't make any sense. It's like the China firewall but even dumber and less effective.

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lokar an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

They want them to follow legally enacted laws in an open democracy.

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sam_lowry_ an hour ago | parent | next [-]

It's all about nuance. The gambling mafia comment is pure gold.

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irishcoffee an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

If you’re aware of the organization called “FIFA” you can’t believe this is true.

I responded to the wrong comment, I ment to respond to the GP.

	▲	Fnoord 3 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		[delayed]