A Taiwanese person is playing on Polymarket's nine-in-one election betting market! A 22-year-old male college student was arrested, claiming "just curious."

Although the 2026 nine-in-one elections have not yet been held, Polymarket has already appeared with betting markets. The Hsinchu District Prosecutors Office and police arrested a college student surnamed He who had placed bets; the case is being investigated for gambling-related offenses and violations of the Election and Recall Act.

The 2026 nine-in-one local elections will be held on November 28. While the nominees put forward by each political party have not yet been fully finalized, decentralized prediction platform Polymarket has nonetheless already appeared with betting markets and opened betting. After learning of this, the Hsinchu District Prosecutors Office directed the Banqiao Precinct to form a special project team for in-depth investigation. On April 15, following the lead, authorities arrested a suspect surnamed He involved in the case in North Taipei City, and the investigation has been expanded.

After the Yunlin District Prosecutors Office discovered earlier this month that two bettors were placing bets on Polymarket’s nine-in-one election betting markets, the Hsinchu District Prosecutors Office also recently received election-related intelligence submitted by the Banqiao Precinct of the New Taipei City Police Department. It found that members of the public were placing bets on Polymarket’s betting market “2026 Taiwanese Local Elections: Party Winner.”

Image source: Polymarket

According to a report by the Liberty Times, after the police pursued the flow of cryptocurrency and obtained concrete evidence, they went straight to Mr. He’s residence on Section 5 of Roosevelt Road in Taipei City yesterday (15th) and detained him for questioning. Mr. He, a 22-year-old college student, said he did it purely out of curiosity, and only then used Polymarket to predict election results and place bets. After questioning, he was transferred for prosecution on suspicion of gambling and violations of the Election and Recall Act for Public Officials, among other offenses.

The Hsinchu District Prosecutors Office stated that, pursuant to Article 103-1 of the Election and Recall Act for Public Officials, “any person who uses telecommunications equipment, electronic communications, the Internet, or other similar methods to bet gambling property whose target is election or recall results” is in violation of the law and may be sentenced to imprisonment of up to 6 months, detention, or a fine of up to NT$100,000.

At its core, blockchain is a public ledger, and all transaction data are openly visible. It is not impossible for the police to trace lawbreakers back to their real identities. In this regard, Block Guest reminds readers to never participate in placing bets on election betting markets in any form, so as to avoid violating the law.

• This article is reprinted with permission from: 《Block Guest》
• Original title: 《Placing Bets on Polymarket “Nine-in-One Election” Markets! 22-Year-Old College Student Arrested by Police》
• Original author: Block Sis MEL