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Polymarket in India: ISP DNS Block, PROGA & Legal Status

Indian ISPs block polymarket.com at the DNS level; the real endpoint still responds. Why plain public DNS often fails, what PROGA and the MeitY advisory say, and the deposit and 30% tax picture.

Tom Hill Independent prediction-market educator Follow on X
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Polymarket has not geoblocked India — the platform itself places no restriction on Indian users, and India does not appear on Polymarket’s restricted-country list. The block comes from Indian ISPs instead, and it works at the DNS layer. Here’s what that actually means, and why the usual “just change your DNS” advice is less reliable than it sounds.

Current Status: Blocked at the DNS Level

India is not on Polymarket’s geoblocked list — India does not appear in Polymarket’s official geographic restrictions, so the platform still permits Indian users. The block is imposed by Indian ISPs, and independent network measurements show it operates at the DNS layer.

What the block actually does

When a device on a major Indian ISP looks up polymarket.com, the ISP’s resolver returns a sinkhole address — an IP owned by the ISP rather than by Polymarket. Connections to that address simply time out. The domain appears unreachable.

The important detail: the real endpoint is not blocked. Network measurement data shows that when a device resolves the domain correctly, connections to Polymarket’s genuine infrastructure succeed and the site responds normally. So this is not an IP-level or traffic-inspection block — it is a corrupted answer to the DNS lookup.

That distinction decides whether a workaround can work at all. A DNS-layer block is, in principle, bypassable by controlling your own resolution. An IP-level block would not be.

Why “change your DNS” is not the simple fix it sounds like

The standard advice is to switch to a public resolver like Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) or Google (8.8.8.8). On paper that should work, because it takes resolution out of the ISP’s hands.

In practice, it is unreliable on Indian networks:

  • Plain public DNS still travels unencrypted over the ISP’s network, and at least one major Indian ISP was measured refusing plaintext DNS queries to a public resolver outright — so the query never gets answered at all.
  • ISP behaviour is not uniform. Different providers sinkhole differently, and one was observed returning NXDOMAIN instead. Some connections return a mix of poisoned and genuine answers, which is why a site can load intermittently and then fail.
  • The block predates the 2026 regulatory actions. Measurements show the same ISP sinkhole answers from as early as October 2025, so this is established infrastructure rather than a temporary measure.

The approaches more likely to survive the mechanism are encrypted DNS (DNS-over-HTTPS or DNS-over-TLS, which the ISP cannot read or rewrite) or routing your connection through a tunnel. Those are the versions worth considering, and even then treat it as unguaranteed — Indian ISP behaviour varies and the position has been tightening rather than loosening.

We are not going to promise this works. The block was still active in the most recent measurements, and enforcement expanded in 2026 rather than easing. If you are in India, assume access is unreliable rather than solved.

This also matters legally: the April 2026 MeitY advisory reportedly extends to VPN providers as well as ISPs, so workarounds are not a neutral act in the regulator’s view.

India also has PROGA 2025 (Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act), which broadly prohibits “online money games.” Its rules were notified on 22 April 2026 and took effect on 1 May 2026 — it is in force, not pending.

PROGA 2025

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act passed Parliament and received Presidential Assent on 22 August 2025. Key provisions:

  • Blanket prohibition on “online money games”
  • Collapsed the old distinction between games of skill and games of chance — both are prohibited if money is staked
  • Created the Online Gaming Authority of India (OGAI) for enforcement

Timeline — it is now in force:

DateEvent
22 Aug 2025Presidential Assent
22 Apr 2026Rules notified
1 May 2026Rules in force
25 Apr 2026MeitY advisory — states PROGA prohibits online real-money gaming “in all forms” and names Polymarket
Reported 21–22 May 2026ISPs reported to have been directed to block the domain
29 Jul 2026OGAI’s first broad compliance push — app stores, banks and telcos told to disable money games, block payments and pull ads

Whether a court would ultimately treat Polymarket differently from other offshore operators remains untested, and the blocking orders themselves are confidential under India’s Blocking Rules. But the regulator’s stated position is clear and targeted: MeitY’s advisory names Polymarket directly, and the enforcement direction has been tightening through 2026.

SEBI

SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) has not issued specific guidance on prediction markets. The focus has been on overhauling stock broker regulations and the Securities Markets Code 2025.

RBI

The Reserve Bank of India maintains a cautious stance on crypto:

  • Pushing CBDCs over stablecoins
  • Making crypto expensive through compliance requirements rather than outright banning it
  • The government’s Economic Survey 2025-2026 signaled potential stablecoin regulations

How to Deposit from India

India has a robust crypto exchange ecosystem with UPI and bank transfer support.

Step 1: Buy USDC on an Indian Exchange

ExchangeUPI SupportBank TransferNotes
WazirXYesYesLargest Indian exchange
CoinDCXYesYesWide token selection
CoinSwitchYesYesUser-friendly interface
ZebPayYesYesOne of the oldest exchanges
MudrexYesYesFocus on automated investing

Step 2: Transfer USDC to Polymarket

  1. Go to Deposit on Polymarket
  2. Select Use Crypto and copy your deposit address
  3. Send USDC from your exchange to the Polymarket address
  4. Choose Polygon for the lowest fees ($3 minimum, arrives in seconds)

For the full walkthrough, see our How to Deposit on Polymarket guide.

⚠️ A caution on the funding route. MeitY’s April 2026 advisory treats INR-to-USDC conversion for this purpose as circumvention, and the OGAI’s July 2026 push specifically directed banks and payment providers to block payments connected to money games. That means the on-ramp — not just the platform — is now within the regulator’s focus. Do not assume the exchange leg of this route is unaffected.

Tax Implications (Important)

India has one of the strictest crypto tax regimes in the world:

TaxRateDetails
Crypto gains tax30% flatNo deductions except cost of acquisition. No offset against other losses.
TDS (Tax Deducted at Source)1%On crypto transactions above a threshold
Surcharge + cessAdditionalCan push effective rate above 30% for high earners

Key points:

  • The 30% tax applies regardless of your income bracket
  • You cannot offset crypto losses against other income
  • Losses from one crypto asset cannot offset gains from another
  • These rates apply to Polymarket profits

Keep detailed records of all deposits, trades, withdrawals, and payouts for ITR filing.

Indian Prediction Market Platforms

Before Polymarket, several domestic platforms offered “opinion trading”:

PlatformStatusNotes
ProboOperating (uncertain)India’s largest opinion trading platform
TradeXOperating (uncertain)Faces similar regulatory uncertainty

These platforms face uncertainty under PROGA 2025. Compared to Polymarket, they offer:

  • Fewer markets and lower liquidity
  • Denominated in INR (convenient but limits scope)
  • Subject to domestic regulatory enforcement

Getting Started

If you’re in India and want to start trading on Polymarket:

  1. Sign up for Polymarket — under 2 minutes, no KYC required
  2. Buy USDC on WazirX or CoinDCX via UPI
  3. Deposit on Polymarket — transfer USDC via Polygon
  4. Place your first trade — start with a small amount

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Polymarket available in India?
Polymarket has not geoblocked India — the block is imposed by Indian ISPs, not the platform. Measurements of Indian networks show the block operates at the DNS layer: the ISP returns a sinkhole address instead of the real one. Independently, the genuine Polymarket endpoint remains reachable when a device does resolve it correctly. Changing DNS is the right class of workaround, but public plaintext resolvers are not reliable here — on at least one major ISP a query to a public resolver was refused outright. Encrypted DNS or a tunnel is the version more likely to work. Treat any fix as unguaranteed rather than a switch that always works.
Is Polymarket legal in India?
It is no longer a grey area in the way it was. PROGA's rules were notified on 22 April 2026 and came into force on 1 May 2026, and MeitY's April 2026 advisory takes the position that PROGA prohibits online real-money gaming in all forms — naming Polymarket specifically. Following that, ISPs were reported to have been directed to block the domain. India also taxes crypto gains at a flat 30% with 1% TDS. Take the legal exposure seriously: the regulator's stated position is that this is prohibited, not merely unclassified.
How do Indians deposit on Polymarket?
Buy USDC on an Indian crypto exchange (WazirX, CoinDCX, CoinSwitch) using UPI or bank transfer, then transfer the USDC to your Polymarket deposit address via the Polygon network.
Does India's 30% crypto tax apply to Polymarket?
Yes. India imposes a flat 30% tax on all crypto gains (no deductions except cost of acquisition) plus 1% TDS on crypto transactions above certain thresholds. Polymarket profits would be subject to these rates.
Can I use UPI to fund Polymarket?
Not directly. You can use UPI to deposit INR on Indian crypto exchanges like WazirX or CoinDCX, buy USDC, then transfer it to Polymarket.
What are alternatives to Polymarket in India?
Domestic platforms like Probo and TradeX offer opinion trading, but face regulatory uncertainty. Polymarket offers deeper liquidity, more market variety, and lower fees than any Indian alternative.
What is PROGA 2025?
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act (PROGA) 2025 is India's online gambling law. It prohibits online money games and collapsed the old distinction between skill-based and chance-based games, and it created the Online Gaming Authority of India. It is now in force: the rules were notified on 22 April 2026 and took effect from 1 May 2026.