Understanding The Risks of Spread Betting
Disclaimer: Leveraged instruments are risky. Do your own research before trading on margin or with leverage. Trading with leverage is at your own risk.
Spread-Bet.co.uk
Spread-Bet.co.uk is built by spread bettors for spread bettors
One of the oldest spread betting broker comparison
Detailed facts, charts and technical evaluations for each broker
Trusted guides by actual spread bettors
Top Spread Betting Brokers
Spread-Bet.co.uk reviews all the best spread betting brokers in the UK. We test and try out each broker, ensuring you get in-depth insights, highlighting the key areas the broker performs, and uncovering their features. All the spread betting brokers we review are FCA-regulated, making them secure for spread betting and offering UK traders protection.
Why Traders Should Compare Spread Betting Brokers
Comparing spread betting brokers is crucial before opening an account, as it’s fundamental to your overall spread betting experience. A poor experience with a broker can lead to poor execution speeds, slippage, and wide spreads—all of which contribute to high costs and losses.
At Spread-Bet.co.uk, we’ve tried and reviewed multiple brokers, considering factors like fees, platforms, and customer support to give you a true “insider” look at how each broker performs. Our aim is to help you learn about a broker’s strengths and weaknesses, ensuring you choose a broker that best fits your trading needs and goals.
Why Use Spread-Bet.co.uk?
At Spread-Bet.co.uk, we’re all spread bettors, so we know what it takes for a spread betting broker to provide top services to maximise your trading experience and lower your costs. We’ve tested the most popular spread betting brokers in the UK, allowing us to provide you with unbiased, in-depth reviews and comparisons reflecting the true trading conditions to expect from the broker. Our reviews cover everything from platform usability and market access to fees and customer support.
Best FCA-Regulated Platforms
With so many spread betting brokers, we’ve opened accounts and tested over 16 FCA-regulated platform providers from Pepperstone to IG Markets to review their performance during typical trading sessions.
All spread betting brokers are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, so your betting environment is safe and secure. In this guide, we’ve narrowed the list of top FCA-regulated brokers down to 8 after comparing spreads, platforms, and overall trading conditions.
Beginners Spread Betting Providers
We have carefully analysed and selected the 6 platforms that we think are ideal if you are new to spread betting.
Our beginners guide breaks down the essential features you will need for spread betting like solid trading conditions, low minimum deposits, and tight spreads, plus other features you will find useful such as educational resources.
Top Spread Bet Demo Accounts
We’ve tested and compared spread betting demo accounts to bring you the 6 best options for risk-free practice.
This guide highlights key features, market access, and platform functionality to help you find the perfect demo account for honing your skills before using your own capital.
FAQS
What is Spread Betting?
Spread betting is a derivative product that allows you to speculate on the price movements of financial markets without owning the underlying asset. You place bets on whether the price will rise or fall, and your profit or loss is determined by the accuracy of your prediction and the size of your bet. Spread betting is the only derivative with a tax-free status in the UK, meaning you do not pay capital gains tax on your profits or stamp duty when placing a bet.
Can you make money spread betting?
Yes, you can make money spread betting if you develop a solid strategy and manage risk carefully. Making money through spread betting involves discipline, market knowledge, and emotional control, so you should start small, use stop losses, and only risk what you can afford to lose.
Are spread betting profits taxable?
In the UK, spread betting profits are tax-free for most retail traders, meaning you do not have to pay capital gains tax and stamp duty on purchases. However, if spread betting is your main source of income, profits may be subject to income tax, but you will still be exempt from stamp duty. Seek professional help for your taxes, as individual circumstances differ when it comes to spread betting.
Where is spread betting legal?
Financial spread betting is legal in the UK, the only country offering the derivative with tax-free status. It’s prohibited in the United States and many other jurisdictions across Europe. To start with spread betting, you must use an FCA-regulated spread betting broker and be a UK citizen.
Is Spread Betting Legal In The UK?
Yes, spread betting is fully legal in the UK. It’s regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as a form of financial derivative trading. UK residents can open spread betting accounts with FCA-authorised brokers and enjoy the benefits spread bets bring, including access to multiple markets and tax-free profits.
Is Spread betting more risky than CFD?
Spread betting and CFDs carry similar risks as you can trade the same markets. When used with an FCA-regulated broker, both products offer Negative Balance Protection, so you’ll never owe the broker any funds if the markets wipe you out.
The actual risk depends more on your trading strategy, risk management, and the markets you trade than the product type.
Is Spread Betting FCA Regulated?
Yes, spread betting is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, and only brokers licenced and authorised by the FCA can provide spread betting markets.
The advantage is that all FCA-authorised spread betting firms must follow strict rules to protect clients, such as segregating client funds, providing negative balance protection, and offering transparent pricing.
Can I use MT4 for spread betting?
Yes, some brokers offer MetaTrader 4 (MT4) for spread betting, but it’s not universally available. Most brokers prefer you to use their proprietary platforms, which are optimised for spread betting. MT4 was designed for forex and CFD trading, so it may have limitations for spread betting, like not being able to spread bet on equities or ETFs.
Which is the best spread betting broker?
Based on our testing, Pepperstone is the best spread betting broker. It offers some of the lowest trading costs, paired with fast execution speeds and a solid range of trading platforms. They also offer a great range of trading tools and solid customer support, making them an excellent pick.
What is the leverage on spread betting?
Leverage in spread betting typically ranges from 1:2 to 1:30 in the UK, depending on the asset and broker. The FCA limits retail client leverage to 1:30 for major forex pairs and lower for other assets, like 1:5 for stock spread bets. Elective professional clients can access higher leverage of up to 1:500, which may vary for each broker.
Which Is Better Spread Betting Or CFD?
Spread betting and CFD trading are identical in terms of market access, leverage and risk. The main difference for UK traders is that spread betting is tax-free, meaning you save money by not paying capital gains tax or stamp duty. CFDs are subject to capital gains tax but not stamp duty, and your losses can be written off against your tax. The choice is a personal one and will differ from person to person, but both products have the same markets, leverage, and similar trading costs.
Our Spread-bet.co.uk Comparison Methodology
At the core of our evaluation process, we prioritise low spreads, as they directly impact your trading costs and profitability. Additionally, we test the execution speeds each broker offers, ensuring that your trades are executed fast across all trading sessions.
We understand that having a choice of trading platforms is essential to catering to different trading styles and preferences. Therefore, we examine each broker’s range of platforms, including their user-friendliness, features, and customisation options. Furthermore, we evaluate the ease and speed of deposit and withdrawal processing and the quality of customer support to ensure a seamless admin experience.
Beyond these fundamental aspects, we also explore the special benefits offered by each broker. These may include access to third-party trading tools, in-house research, guaranteed stop-loss orders, educational resources, and discounted trading costs for high-volume traders. By considering these additional features, we provide a comprehensive review of each broker’s overall value and score them out of 100, enabling you to use this data to help make an informed decision based on your specific trading needs.